<?php
echo substr('abcdef', 1); // bcdef
?>
$str = substr($str, 1);
$str = "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
$str2 = substr($str, 4); // "quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
echo trim(strstr("How are you?"," ")); //are you?
$str = '::f:o:';
$str = ltrim($str, ':');
var_dump($str); //=> 'f:o:'