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PHP File Open/Read/Close

In this chapter we will teach you how to open, read, and close a file on the server.

PHP Open File - fopen()

A better method to open files is with the fopen() function. This function gives you more options than the
readfile() function.

We will use the text file, "webdictionary.txt", during the lessons:

AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript and XML

CSS = Cascading Style Sheets

HTML = Hyper Text Markup Language

PHP = PHP Hypertext Preprocessor

SQL = Structured Query Language

SVG = Scalable Vector Graphics

XML = EXtensible Markup Language

The first parameter of fopen() contains the name of the file to be opened and the second parameter
specifies in which mode the file should be opened. The following example also generates a message if
the fopen() function is unable to open the specified file:

ExampleGet your own PHP Server

<?php

$myfile = fopen("webdictionary.txt", "r") or die("Unable to open file!");

echo fread($myfile,filesize("webdictionary.txt"));

fclose($myfile);

?>

Tip: The fread() and the fclose() functions will be explained below.

The file may be opened in one of the following modes:

Modes Description

r Open a file for read only. File pointer starts at the beginning of the file

w Open a file for write only. Erases the contents of the file or creates a new file if it doesn't exist.
File pointer starts at the beginning of the file

a Open a file for write only. The existing data in file is preserved. File pointer starts at the end of
the file. Creates a new file if the file doesn't exist

x Creates a new file for write only. Returns FALSE and an error if file already exists

r+ Open a file for read/write. File pointer starts at the beginning of the file

w+ Open a file for read/write. Erases the contents of the file or creates a new file if it doesn't exist.
File pointer starts at the beginning of the file

a+ Open a file for read/write. The existing data in file is preserved. File pointer starts at the end of
the file. Creates a new file if the file doesn't exist

x+ Creates a new file for read/write. Returns FALSE and an error if file already exists

PHP Read File - fread()

The fread() function reads from an open file.

The first parameter of fread() contains the name of the file to read from and the second parameter
specifies the maximum number of bytes to read.

The following PHP code reads the "webdictionary.txt" file to the end:
fread($myfile,filesize("webdictionary.txt"));

PHP Close File - fclose()

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

It's a good programming practice to close all files after you have finished with them. You don't want an
open file running around on your server taking up resources!

The fclose() requires the name of the file (or a variable that holds the filename) we want to close:

<?php

$myfile = fopen("webdictionary.txt", "r");

// some code to be executed....

fclose($myfile);

?>

PHP Read Single Line - fgets()

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

The example below outputs the first line of the "webdictionary.txt" file:

Example

<?php

$myfile = fopen("webdictionary.txt", "r") or die("Unable to open file!");

echo fgets($myfile);

fclose($myfile);

?>
Note: After a call to the fgets() function, the file pointer has moved to the next line.

PHP Check End-Of-File - feof()

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.

The example below reads the "webdictionary.txt" file line by line, until end-of-file is reached:

Example

<?php

$myfile = fopen("webdictionary.txt", "r") or die("Unable to open file!");

// Output one line until end-of-file

while(!feof($myfile)) {

echo fgets($myfile) . "<br>";

fclose($myfile);

?>

PHP Read Single Character - fgetc()

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

The example below reads the "webdictionary.txt" file character by character, until end-of-file is reached:

Example

<?php
$myfile = fopen("webdictionary.txt", "r") or die("Unable to open file!");

// Output one character until end-of-file

while(!feof($myfile)) {

echo fgetc($myfile);

fclose($myfile);

?>

Note: After a call to the fgetc() function, the file pointer moves to the next character.

Complete PHP Filesystem Reference

For a complete reference of filesystem functions, go to our complete PHP Filesystem Reference.

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