+

Description

+

+ string file_get_contents + ( string $filename + [, bool $use_include_path = false + [, resource $context + [, int $offset = -1 + [, int $maxlen + ]]]] )

+ +

+ This function is similar to file(), except that + file_get_contents() returns the file in a + string, starting at the specified offset + up to maxlen bytes. On failure, + file_get_contents() will return FALSE. +

+

+ file_get_contents() is the preferred way to read the + contents of a file into a string. It will use memory mapping techniques if + supported by your OS to enhance performance. +

+

Note: +
+ If you're opening a URI with special characters, such as spaces, you + need to encode the URI with urlencode(). +
+

+

Parameters

+

+ + filename +: + +
+ Name of the file to read. +
+
+ + use_include_path +: + +
Note: +
+ As of PHP 5 the FILE_USE_INCLUDE_PATH can be used + to trigger include path + search. +
+
+ +
+ + context +: + +
+ A valid context resource created with + stream_context_create(). If you don't need to use a + custom context, you can skip this parameter by NULL. +
+
+ + offset +: + +
+ The offset where the reading starts on the original stream. +
+
+ + maxlen +: + +
+ Maximum length of data read. The default is to read until end + of file is reached. Note that this parameter is applied to the + stream processed by the filters. +
+

+ +

+

Return Values

+

+ The function returns the read data or FALSE on failure. +

+

Examples

+

Example #1 Get and output the source of the homepage of a website

+


+<?php
$homepage = file_get_contents('http://www.example.com/');
echo $homepage;
?>
+
+

+

+ +

+

Example #2 Searching within the include_path

+


+<?php
// <= PHP 5
$file = file_get_contents('./people.txt', true);
// > PHP 5
$file = file_get_contents('./people.txt', FILE_USE_INCLUDE_PATH);
?>
+
+

+

+ +

+

Example #3 Reading a section of a file

+


+<?php
// Read 14 characters starting from the 21st character
$section = file_get_contents('./people.txt', NULL, NULL, 20, 14);
var_dump($section);
?>
+
+

+

+ +

The above example will output +something similar to:

+

+string(14) "lle Bjori Ro"
+

+

Example #4 Using stream contexts

+


+<?php
// Create a stream
$opts = array(
  'http'=>array(
    'method'=>"GET",
    'header'=>"Accept-language: en\r\n" .
              "Cookie: foo=bar\r\n"
  )
);

$context = stream_context_create($opts);

// Open the file using the HTTP headers set above
$file = file_get_contents('http://www.example.com/', false, $context);
?>
+
+

+

+ +

+

Changelog

+

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Version Description
5.1.0 + Added the offset and + maxlen parameters. +
5.0.0 + Added context support. +
+ +

+

Version	Description
5.1.0	+ Added the `offset` and + `maxlen` parameters. +
5.0.0	+ Added context support. +

Notes

+

Note: This function is +binary-safe.

+

Tip

A URL can be used as a +filename with this function if the fopen wrappers have been enabled. +See fopen() for more details on how to specify the +filename. See the Supported Protocols and Wrappers for links to information +about what abilities the various wrappers have, notes on their usage, +and information on any predefined variables they may +provide.

+

Warning

When using SSL, Microsoft IIS +will violate the protocol by closing the connection without sending a +close_notify indicator. PHP will report this as "SSL: Fatal +Protocol Error" when you reach the end of the data. To work around this, the +value of error_reporting should be +lowered to a level that does not include warnings. +PHP 4.3.7 and higher can detect buggy IIS server software when you open +the stream using the https:// wrapper and will suppress the +warning. When using fsockopen() to create an +ssl:// socket, the developer is responsible for detecting +and suppressing this warning.

+