PHP stream_get_contents() Function

The PHP stream_get_contents() function reads remainder of a stream into a string. This function is identical to file_get_contents(), except that stream_get_contents() operates on an already open stream resource and returns the remaining contents in a string, up to maxlength bytes and starting at the specified offset.

Syntax

stream_get_contents(stream, maxlength, offset)

Parameters

`stream`	`Required.` Specify a stream resource, for example returned from fopen() function.
`maxlength`	`Optional.` Specify the maximum bytes to read. Defaults is -1 (read all the remaining buffer).
`offset`	`Optional.` Seek to the specified offset before reading. If this number is negative, no seeking will occur and reading will start from the current position. Defaults is -1.

Return Value

Returns a string or false on failure.

Example: reading a file

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, stream_get_contents() function is used to read the content of it.

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

//open the file in read mode
$stream = fopen($file, 'r');

//reading and displaying the content of the file
echo stream_get_contents($stream);

//closing the stream
fclose($stream);
?>

The output of the above code will be:

This is a test file.
It contains dummy content.

Example: reading a section of a file

By using offset and maxlength parameters, we can specify from where to start reading and maximum length of data to read.

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

//open the file in read mode
$stream = fopen($file, 'r');

//reading and displaying the content of the file
//with maxlength = 20 and offset = 5
echo stream_get_contents($stream, 20, 5);

//closing the stream
fclose($stream);
?>

The output of the above code will be:

is a test file.
It

❮ PHP Streams Reference