convert VB Mid$ to PHP $something ?

hey all --

i am having a tough time converting a VB function to it's equivalent in PHP. it's the VB Mid$ function, close to Left$ or Right$ (left or right sides of strings), for extracting chunks of strings...but you pass in the text you want to pull from...then tell Mid$ which character to start at and how many characters you want to pull starting from there. like so: Mid$ ($thetext_toparse, $character_tostartat, $how_many_characters)...sorry for the VB/PHP combination, i am used to PHP variables now.

does anyone know what PHP function i would want to use to emulate this ? thx, Geoff

i figured it out: substr ($thetext_toparse, $character_tostartat, $how_many_characters); did it perfect. i guess it pays to crack a book once ina while...page 183 of the wrox book slapped me in the face - doH !! ;)