PHP file() Function

The PHP file() function reads a file into an array. Each element of the array corresponds to a line in the file, with the newline character still attached.

Note: The file_get_contents() function is used to return the contents of a file as a string.

Syntax

file(filename, flags, context)

Parameters

`filename`	`Required.` Specify the path to the file to read. A URL can be used as a filename with this function if the fopen wrappers have been enabled.
`flags`	`Optional.` Specify how to open/read the file. The possible values are: FILE_USE_INCLUDE_PATH - Search for filename in the include directory. include_path can be set in php.ini. FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES - Remove newline character at the end of each array element. FILE_SKIP_EMPTY_LINES - Skip empty lines. The value of flags can be any combination of the above mentioned flags, joined with the binary OR (\|) operator.
`context`	`Optional.` Specify the context of the file handle. Context is a set of options that can modify the behavior of a stream.

Return Value

Returns the file in an array. Each element of the array corresponds to a line in the file, with the newline still attached. Upon failure, it returns false.

Note: Each line in the resulting array will include the newline character, unless FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES is used.

Exceptions

Generates an E_WARNING level error if filename is not found.

Example: reading a file into an array

Lets assume that we have a file called test.txt. This file contains following content:

This is a test file.
It contains dummy content.

In the example below, file() function is used to read the content of it into an array.

<?php
$filename = "test.txt";

//reading the content of $filename
$lines = file($filename);

//displaying the array
print_r($lines);
?>

The output of the above code will be:

Array
(
    [0] => This is a test file.

    [1] => It contains dummy content.
)

Example: remove newline character

By using FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES flag, we can remove newline character at the end of each array element. Consider the example below:

<?php
$filename = "test.txt";

//reading the content of $filename
$lines = file($filename, FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES);

//displaying the array
print_r($lines);
?>

The output of the above code will be:

Array
(
    [0] => This is a test file.
    [1] => It contains dummy content.
)

❮ PHP Filesystem Reference