test_preg_replace

<?php

$patterns = array ('/(19|20)(\d{2})-(\d{1,2})-(\d{1,2})/',
                   '/^\s*{(\w+)}\s*=/');

$replace = array ('\3/\4/\1\2', '$\1 =');

echo preg_replace($patterns, $replace, '{startDate} = 1999-5-27');

?>