File Handling In PHP

PHP File System allows us to create a file, read file line by line, read file character by character, write a file, append file, delete a file and close file.

PHP Open File - fopen()

The PHP fopen() function is used to open a file.

Syntax

fopen(filename,mode,include_path,context)

Open File Example

<?php  
$handle = fopen("c:foldermyfile.txt", "r");  
?>  

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PHP Close File - fclose()

The PHP fclose() function is used to close an open file pointer.

Syntax

fclose(file)

Example

<?php
$file = fopen("mytest.txt","r");
//some code to be executed
fclose($file);
?>

PHP Read File - fread()

The PHP fread() function is used to read the content of the file. It accepts two arguments: resource and file size.

Syntax

fread(file,length)

Parameter	Description
file	Required. Specifies the open file to read from
length	Required. Specifies the maximum number of bytes to read

Example 1: Read 10 bytes from file:

<?php
$file = fopen("test.txt","r");
fread($file,"10");
fclose($file);
?>

Output : hello php file

Example 2: Read entire file:

<?php
$file = fopen("test.txt","r");
fread($file,filesize("test.txt"));
fclose($file);
?>

 

PHP Write File - fwrite()

The PHP fwrite() function is used to write content of the string into file.

Syntax

fwrite(file,string,length)  

Example

<?php  
$fp = fopen("data.txt", "w");//open file in write mode  
fwrite($fp, "hello");  
fwrite($fp, "php file");  
fclose($fp);  
echo "File written successfully";  
?> 

Output : File written successfully

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PHP Delete File - unlink()

The PHP unlink() function is used to delete the file.

Syntax

unlink(filename,context)

Parameter	Description
filename	Required. Specifies the file to delete
context	Optional. Specifies the context of the filehandle. Context is a set of options that can modify the behavior of a stream

Example

<?php    
unlink("data.txt"); 
echo "File deleted successfully";  
?>  

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PHP rename() Function

• The rename() function renames a file or directory.
• This function returns TRUE on success or FALSE on failure.

Syntax

rename(oldname,newname,context)

Parameter	Description
oldname	Required. Specifies the file or directory to be renamed
newname	Required. Specifies the new name of the file or directory
context	Optional. Specifies the context of the filehandle. Context is a set of options that can modify the behavior of a stream

Example

<?php
rename("images","pictures");
?>