diff --git a/functions/strings.xml b/functions/strings.xml
index a50558f7e5..b7af603fde 100644
--- a/functions/strings.xml
+++ b/functions/strings.xml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <?xml encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
-<!-- $Revision: 1.102 $ -->
+<!-- $Revision: 1.103 $ -->
  <reference id="ref.strings">
   <title>String functions</title>
   <titleabbrev>Strings</titleabbrev>
@@ -153,37 +153,20 @@ echo addcslashes("zoo['.']", 'z..A');
   <refentry id="function.chop">
    <refnamediv>
     <refname>chop</refname>
-    <refpurpose>Remove trailing whitespace</refpurpose>
+    <refpurpose>Alias of <function>rtrim</function></refpurpose>
    </refnamediv>
    <refsect1>
     <title>Description</title>
-    <funcsynopsis>
-     <funcprototype>
-      <funcdef>string <function>chop</function></funcdef>
-      <paramdef>string <parameter>str</parameter></paramdef>
-     </funcprototype>
-    </funcsynopsis>
     <para>
-     Returns the argument string without trailing whitespace,
-     including newlines.
-     <example>
-      <title><function>chop</function> example</title>
-      <programlisting role="php">
-$trimmed = chop($line);
-      </programlisting>
-     </example>
+     This function is an alias of <function>rtrim</function>.
     </para>
     <note>
      <para>
       <function>chop</function> is different than the Perl
-      <parameter>chop()</parameter> function, which removes the last
+      <literal>chop()</literal> function, which removes the last
       character in the string.
      </para>
     </note>
-    <para>
-     See also <function>trim</function>, <function>ltrim</function>,
-     <function>rtrim</function>, and <function>chop</function>.
-    </para>
    </refsect1>
   </refentry>
 
@@ -1323,6 +1306,7 @@ echo "&lt;/PRE&gt;\n";
    </refsect1>
   </refentry>
 
+  <!-- this section is nearly-identical to trim, ltrim and rtrim -->
   <refentry id="function.ltrim">
    <refnamediv>
     <refname>ltrim</refname> 
@@ -1334,19 +1318,96 @@ echo "&lt;/PRE&gt;\n";
     <title>Description</title>
     <funcsynopsis>
      <funcprototype>
-      <funcdef>string <function>ltrim</function></funcdef>
-      <paramdef>string <parameter>str</parameter></paramdef>
+      <funcdef>string 
+       <function>ltrim</function>
+      </funcdef>
+      <paramdef>string 
+       <parameter>str</parameter>
+      </paramdef>
+      <paramdef>string 
+       <parameter><optional>charlist</optional></parameter>
+      </paramdef>
      </funcprototype>
     </funcsynopsis>
     <para>
      This function returns a string with whitespace stripped from the
-     beginning of <parameter>str</parameter>.  The whitespace
-     characters it currently strips are: "\n", "\r", "\t", "\v", "\0",
-     and a plain space.
+     beginning of <parameter>str</parameter>.
+     Without the second parameter,
+     <function>ltrim</function> will strip these characters:
+     <!-- sorted by importance. Printed 3 times: trim, ltrim, rtrim -->
+     <itemizedlist>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        " " (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>32</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x20</literal>)), an ordinary space.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\t" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>9</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x09</literal>)), a tab.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\n" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>13</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x0D</literal>)), a newline.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\r" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>10</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x0A</literal>)), a return.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\0" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>0</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x00</literal>)), the <literal>NUL</literal>-byte.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara> <!-- not \v, since not supported by PHP -->
+        "\x0B" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>11</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x0B</literal>)), a <!-- TODO: -->.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+     </itemizedlist>
     </para>
     <para>
-     See also <function>chop</function>, <function>rtrim</function>, and
-     <function>trim</function>.
+     You can also specify the characters you want to strip, by means
+     of the <parameter>charlist</parameter> parameter.
+     Simply list all characters that you want to be stripped. With
+     <literal>..</literal> you can specify a range of characters.
+    </para>
+    <example>
+     <title>Usuage example of <function>ltrim</function></title>
+     <para>
+      <programlisting role="php">
+<![CDATA[
+<?php
+
+$text = "\t\tThese are a few words :) ...  ";
+$trimmed = ltrim($text);
+// $trimmed = "These are a few words :) ...  "
+$trimmed = ltrim($text," \t.");
+// $trimmed = "These are a few words :) ...  "
+$clean = ltrim($binary,"\0x00..\0x1F");
+// trim the ASCII control characters at the beginning of $binary 
+// (from 0 to 31 inclusive)
+
+?>
+]]>
+      </programlisting>
+     </para>
+    </example>
+    <note>
+     <simpara>
+      The second parameter was added in PHP 4.0.7
+     </simpara>
+    </note>
+    <para>
+     See also <function>trim</function> and <function>rtrim</function>.
     </para>
    </refsect1>
   </refentry>
@@ -1617,32 +1678,108 @@ echo $second[1]; /* prints "another" */
    </refsect1>
   </refentry>
 
+  <!-- this section is nearly-identical to trim, ltrim and rtrim -->
   <refentry id="function.rtrim">
    <refnamediv>
     <refname>rtrim</refname>
-    <refpurpose>Remove trailing whitespace.</refpurpose>
+    <refpurpose>
+     Strip whitespace from the end of a string
+    </refpurpose>
    </refnamediv>
    <refsect1>
     <title>Description</title>
     <funcsynopsis>
      <funcprototype>
-      <funcdef>string <function>rtrim</function></funcdef>
-      <paramdef>string <parameter>str</parameter></paramdef>
+      <funcdef>string 
+       <function>rtrim</function>
+      </funcdef>
+      <paramdef>string 
+       <parameter>str</parameter>
+      </paramdef>
+      <paramdef>string 
+       <parameter><optional>charlist</optional></parameter>
+      </paramdef>
      </funcprototype>
     </funcsynopsis>
     <para>
-     Returns the argument string without trailing whitespace,
-     including newlines.  This is an alias for <function>chop</function>.
-     <example>
-      <title><function>rtrim</function> example</title>
-      <programlisting role="php">
-$trimmed = rtrim($line);
-      </programlisting>
-     </example>
+     This function returns a string with whitespace stripped from the
+     end of <parameter>str</parameter>.
+     Without the second parameter,
+     <function>rtrim</function> will strip these characters:
+     <!-- sorted by importance. Printed 3 times: trim, ltrim, rtrim -->
+     <itemizedlist>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        " " (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>32</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x20</literal>)), an ordinary space.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\t" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>9</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x09</literal>)), a tab.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\n" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>13</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x0D</literal>)), a newline.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\r" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>10</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x0A</literal>)), a return.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\0" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>0</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x00</literal>)), the <literal>NUL</literal>-byte.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara> <!-- not \v, since not supported by PHP -->
+        "\x0B" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>11</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x0B</literal>)), a <!-- TODO: -->.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+     </itemizedlist>
     </para>
     <para>
-     See also <function>trim</function>, <function>ltrim</function>, and
-     <function>rtrim</function>.
+     You can also specify the characters you want to strip, by means
+     of the <parameter>charlist</parameter> parameter.
+     Simply list all characters that you want to be stripped. With
+     <literal>..</literal> you can specify a range of characters.
+    </para>
+    <example>
+     <title>Usuage example of <function>rtrim</function></title>
+     <para>
+      <programlisting role="php">
+<![CDATA[
+<?php
+
+$text = "\t\tThese are a few words :) ...  ";
+$trimmed = rtrim($text);
+// $trimmed = "\t\tThese are a few words :) ..."
+$trimmed = rtrim($text," \t.");
+// $trimmed = "\t\tThese are a few words :)"
+$clean = rtrim($binary,"\0x00..\0x1F");
+// trim the ASCII control characters at the end of $binary 
+// (from 0 to 31 inclusive)
+
+?>
+]]>
+      </programlisting>
+     </para>
+    </example>
+    <note>
+     <simpara>
+      The second parameter was added in PHP 4.0.7
+     </simpara>
+    </note>
+    <para>
+     See also <function>trim</function> and <function>ltrim</function>.
     </para>
    </refsect1>
   </refentry>
@@ -3398,6 +3535,7 @@ echo substr_replace($var, '', 10, -1) . "&lt;br&gt;\n";
    </refsect1>
   </refentry>
 
+  <!-- this section is nearly-identical to trim, ltrim and rtrim -->
   <refentry id="function.trim">
    <refnamediv>
     <refname>trim</refname> 
@@ -3409,19 +3547,96 @@ echo substr_replace($var, '', 10, -1) . "&lt;br&gt;\n";
     <title>Description</title>
     <funcsynopsis>
      <funcprototype>
-      <funcdef>string <function>trim</function></funcdef>
-      <paramdef>string <parameter>str</parameter></paramdef>
+      <funcdef>string 
+       <function>trim</function>
+      </funcdef>
+      <paramdef>string 
+       <parameter>str</parameter>
+      </paramdef>
+      <paramdef>string 
+       <parameter><optional>charlist</optional></parameter>
+      </paramdef>
      </funcprototype>
     </funcsynopsis>
     <para>
-     This function returns a string with whitespace stripped from
-     the beginning and end of <parameter>str</parameter>.  The
-     whitespace characters it currently strips are: "\n", "\r", "\t",
-     "\v", "\0", and a plain space.
+     This function returns a string with whitespace stripped from the
+     beginning and end of <parameter>str</parameter>.
+     Without the second parameter,
+     <function>trim</function> will strip these characters:
+     <!-- sorted by importance. Printed 3 times: trim, ltrim, rtrim -->
+     <itemizedlist>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        " " (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>32</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x20</literal>)), an ordinary space.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\t" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>9</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x09</literal>)), a tab.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\n" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>13</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x0D</literal>)), a newline.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\r" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>10</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x0A</literal>)), a return.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara>
+        "\0" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>0</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x00</literal>)), the <literal>NUL</literal>-byte.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+      <listitem>
+       <simpara> <!-- not \v, since not supported by PHP -->
+        "\x0B" (<acronym>ASCII</acronym> <literal>11</literal> 
+        (<literal>0x0B</literal>)), a <!-- TODO: -->.
+       </simpara>
+      </listitem>
+     </itemizedlist>
     </para>
     <para>
-     See also <function>chop</function>, <function>rtrim</function> and
-     <function>ltrim</function>.
+     You can also specify the characters you want to strip, by means
+     of the <parameter>charlist</parameter> parameter.
+     Simply list all characters that you want to be stripped. With
+     <literal>..</literal> you can specify a range of characters.
+    </para>
+    <example>
+     <title>Usuage example of <function>trim</function></title>
+     <para>
+      <programlisting role="php">
+<![CDATA[
+<?php
+
+$text = "\t\tThese are a few words :) ...  ";
+$trimmed = trim($text);
+// $trimmed = "These are a few words :) ..."
+$trimmed = trim($text," \t.");
+// $trimmed = "These are a few words :)"
+$clean = trim($binary,"\0x00..\0x1F");
+// trim the ASCII control characters at the beginning and end of $binary
+// (from 0 to 31 inclusive)
+
+?>
+]]>
+      </programlisting>
+     </para>
+    </example>
+    <note>
+     <simpara>
+      The second parameter was added in PHP 4.0.7
+     </simpara>
+    </note>
+    <para>
+     See also <function>ltrim</function> and <function>rtrim</function>.
     </para>
    </refsect1>
   </refentry>