You can use a simple regex (updated version from user viriathus as eregi
is deprecated)
if (preg_match('#^http#', $url) === 1) {
// Starts with http (case sensitive).
}
or if you want a case insensitive search
if (preg_match('#^http#i', $url) === 1) {
// Starts with http (case insensitive).
}
Regexes allow to perform more complex tasks
if (preg_match('#^https?://#i', $url) === 1) {
// Starts with http:// or https:// (case insensitive).
}
Performance wise, you don't need to create a new string (unlike with substr) nor parse the whole string if it doesn't start with what you want. You will have a performance penalty though the 1st time you use the regex (you need to create/compile it).
This extension maintains a global per-thread cache of compiled regular expressions (up to 4096). http://www.php.net/manual/en/intro.pcre.php