Note that, as of PHP 5.3, it seems that named subpatterns are now included in the matches array by their named key as well as their numerical key.
To build off of Chris' previous example, as of PHP 5.3, you *can* do
<?php
preg_replace_callback('/(?<char>[a-z])/', 'callback', 'word');
function callback($matches) {
var_dump($matches);
}
?>
and expect to get $matches['char'] in your function. * BUT ONLY AS OF PHP 5.3 *
Please be mindful of this if you intend to support PHP 5.2.