public function in($items, $flags = 0)
    {
        $ret = false;

        // sorts the items in descending order according to their length
        usort(
            $items,
            function ($item1, $item2) {
                return strlen($item1) < strlen($item2);
            }
        );

        foreach ($items as $item) {
            if ($this->eq($item, $flags)) {
                $ret = array($item);
                break;
            }
        }

        return $ret;
    }