PHP function for bright hex color

gistfile1.aw

<?
function hexLighter($hex,$factor = 30)  { 
    $new_hex = '';
    $hex = str_replace('#', '', $hex);
     
    $base['R'] = hexdec($hex{0}.$hex{1}); 
    $base['G'] = hexdec($hex{2}.$hex{3}); 
    $base['B'] = hexdec($hex{4}.$hex{5}); 
     
    foreach ($base as $k => $v) { 
        $amount = 255 - $v; 
        $amount = $amount / 100; 
        $amount = round($amount * $factor); 
        $new_decimal = $v + $amount; 
     
        $new_hex_component = dechex($new_decimal); 
        if(strlen($new_hex_component) < 2) 
            $new_hex_component = "0".$new_hex_component;
        $new_hex .= $new_hex_component; 
    } 
         
    return $new_hex;     
}