Get int value from string 'word'
<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Possible Duplicate:</strong><br>
  <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1077600/converting-words-to-numbers-in-php">Converting words to numbers in PHP</a>  </p>
</blockquote>



<p>I've been searching around for a bit, but haven't come across anything as of yet. Is it possible to do the following:</p>

<pre><code>$columns = 'four';
$columns_int = PHP_FUNCTION($columns);

return $columns_int;

// returns int(4)
</code></pre>

<p>I believe I was playing around with Ruby and saw something like this, but thought this was also available in PHP. Thanks!</p>
