php man page for scandir

SCANDIR(3)								 1								SCANDIR(3)

scandir - List files and directories inside the specified path

SYNOPSIS
       array scandir (string  $directory, [int	$sorting_order = SCANDIR_SORT_ASCENDING], [resource  $context])

DESCRIPTION
	Returns an array of files and directories from the $directory.

PARAMETERS
	      o $directory
		- The directory that will be scanned.

	      o $sorting_order
		-  By default, the sorted order is alphabetical in ascending order. If the optional $sorting_order is set to SCANDIR_SORT_DESCEND-
		ING, then the sort order is alphabetical in descending order. If it is set to SCANDIR_SORT_NONE then the result is unsorted.

	      o $context
		- For a description of the $context parameter, refer to the streams section of the manual.

RETURN VALUES
	Returns an array of filenames on success, or FALSE on failure. If $directory is not a directory, then boolean FALSE is	returned,  and	an
       error of level E_WARNING is generated.

CHANGELOG
       +--------+---------------------------------------------------+
       |Version |						    |
       |	|						    |
       |	|		     Description		    |
       |	|						    |
       +--------+---------------------------------------------------+
       | 5.4.0	|						    |
       |	|						    |
       |	| $sorting_orderconstants  were  added. Any nonzero |
       |	| value caused descending order  in  previous  ver- |
       |	| sions. So for all PHP versions, use 0 for ascend- |
       |	| ing order, and 1 for descending order. An  option |
       |	| for  SCANDIR_SORT_NONE  behavior  did  not  exist |
       |	| prior to PHP 5.4.0.				    |
       |	|						    |
       +--------+---------------------------------------------------+
EXAMPLES
       Example #1

	      A simple scandir(3) example

	      <?php
	      $dir    = '/tmp';
	      $files1 = scandir($dir);
	      $files2 = scandir($dir, 1);

	      print_r($files1);
	      print_r($files2);
	      ?>

	      The above example will output something similar to:

	      Array
	      (
		  [0] => .
		  [1] => ..
		  [2] => bar.php
		  [3] => foo.txt
		  [4] => somedir
	      )
	      Array
	      (
		  [0] => somedir
		  [1] => foo.txt
		  [2] => bar.php
		  [3] => ..
		  [4] => .
	      )

       Example #2

	      PHP 4 alternatives to scandir(3)

	      <?php
	      $dir = "/tmp";
	      $dh  = opendir($dir);
	      while (false !== ($filename = readdir($dh))) {
		  $files[] = $filename;
	      }

	      sort($files);

	      print_r($files);

	      rsort($files);

	      print_r($files);

	      ?>

	      The above example will output something similar to:

	      Array
	      (
		  [0] => .
		  [1] => ..
		  [2] => bar.php
		  [3] => foo.txt
		  [4] => somedir
	      )
	      Array
	      (
		  [0] => somedir
		  [1] => foo.txt
		  [2] => bar.php
		  [3] => ..
		  [4] => .
	      )

NOTES
       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.

SEE ALSO
       opendir(3), readdir(3), glob(3), is_dir(3), sort(3).

PHP Documentation Group 														SCANDIR(3)