how to question...

Ok here is what I would like to accomplish, I am sure someone has done something like this but I need an example to go from since I am still not able to write php from scratch... I need to write a function to count the contents of a directory, like the file names and place them into an array so I can use a select box to select the file path in which I would like to save to database, like I said I don't want someone to do it for me, I just need a resource such as a tutorial or example to run with. Thanks a ton, Jas