title: get first three letters of a word in php
body: <p>i would like to get the first three letters of a word in php.</p>
  
  <p>for example:</p>
  
  <p>i have september 5, 2012 in my database (mysql)</p>
  
  <p>and in my html i only want to see the first three letters of the date like in september i want it to be "SEP" only in my html. </p>
  
  <p>and what if i want to get the 5, and 2012?</p>
  
  <p>thanks for your answers but how to get the 5 and 2012? i mean the day and the year</p>