FILE_GET_CONTENTS(3)							 1						      FILE_GET_CONTENTS(3)

file_get_contents - Reads entire file into a string

SYNOPSIS

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

DESCRIPTION

	This  function	is similar to file(3), except that file_get_contents(3) returns the file in a string, starting at the specified $offset up
       to $maxlen bytes. On failure, file_get_contents(3) will return FALSE.

       file_get_contents(3) 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(3).

PARAMETERS

	      o $filename
		- Name of the file to read.

	      o $use_include_path
		-

	      Note

		      As of PHP 5 the FILE_USE_INCLUDE_PATH constant can be used to trigger include path search.

	      o $context
		-  A  valid  context  resource created with stream_context_create(3). If you don't need to use a custom context, you can skip this
		parameter by NULL.

	      o $offset
		- The offset where the reading starts on the original stream.  Seeking ($offset) is not supported with remote files. Attempting to
		seek on non-local files may work with small offsets, but this is unpredictable because it works on the buffered stream.

	      o $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.

       Warning

	      This function may return Boolean FALSE, but may also return a non-Boolean value which evaluates to FALSE. Please read the section on
	      Booleans for more information. Use the === operator for testing the return value of this function.

ERRORS
/EXCEPTIONS
	An  E_WARNING  level error is generated if $filename cannot be found, $maxlength is less than zero, or if seeking to the specified $offset
       in the stream fails.

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
" .
			    "Cookie: foo=bar
"
		)
	      );

	      $context = stream_context_create($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. |
       |	|					     |
       +--------+--------------------------------------------+
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(3) 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 can detect buggy IIS server software when you open the stream using
	      the https:// wrapper and will suppress the warning. When using fsockopen(3) to create an ssl:// socket, the developer is responsible
	      for detecting and suppressing this warning.

SEE ALSO

       file(3), fgets(3), fread(3), readfile(3), file_put_contents(3), stream_get_contents(3), stream_context_create(3), $http_response_header.

PHP Documentation Group 												      FILE_GET_CONTENTS(3)