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PHP File Handling


The fopen() function is used to open files in PHP.


Opening a File

The fopen() function is used to open files in PHP.

The first parameter of this function contains the name of the file to be opened, and the second parameter specifies the mode in which the file should be opened:

Files can be opened with the following modes:

Mode Description
r Read only. Starts at the beginning of the file.
r+ Read/Write. Starts at the beginning of the file.
w Write only. Opens and clears the contents of the file; if the file does not exist, it creates a new file.
w+ Read/Write. Opens and clears the contents of the file; if the file does not exist, it creates a new file.
a Append. Opens the file and writes to the end of the file; if the file does not exist, it creates a new file.
a+ Read/Append. Preserves file content by writing to the end of the file.
x Write only. Creates a new file. Returns FALSE and an error if the file already exists.
x+ Read/Write. Creates a new file. Returns FALSE and an error if the file already exists.

Note: If the fopen() function cannot open the specified file, it returns 0 (false).

Example

If the fopen() function cannot open the specified file, the following example will generate a message:


Closing a File

The fclose() function is used to close an open file:


Checking for the End-of-File (EOF)

The feof() function checks if the end-of-file (EOF) has been reached.

The feof() function is useful for looping through data of unknown length.

Note: You cannot read from files opened in w, a, and x modes!


Reading a File Line by Line

The fgets() function is used to read a file line by line.

Note: After calling this function, the file pointer moves to the next line.

Example

The following example reads a file line by line until the end of the file is reached:


Reading a File Character by Character

The fgetc() function is used to read a file character by character.

Note: After calling this function, the file pointer moves to the next character.

Example

The following example reads a file character by character until the end of the file is reached:


PHP Filesystem Reference Manual

For a complete reference manual of PHP filesystem functions, please visit our PHP Filesystem Reference Manual.

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