PHP Include & Require
Include and require statements are used in PHP to insert or include the content of one PHP file into another. These statements are used when we want to reuse a common piece of code across multiple pages of a web application.
Syntax
The syntax for the include and require statements is as follows:
include 'filename.php';
require 'filename.php';
The difference between the include and require statements is that if the file specified in the include statement is not found, the script will continue to execute whereas if the file specified in the require statement is not found, the script will terminate with a fatal error.
Example
Let's say we have a file called "header.php" that contains the HTML code for the header of our web application. We can include this file in another PHP file called "index.php" using the following code:
<?php
include 'header.php';
// Rest of the code for index.php
?>
We can also use the require statement to achieve the same result:
<?php
require 'header.php';
// Rest of the code for index.php
?>
Output
When we execute the code that includes or requires the "header.php" file, the HTML code in the "header.php" file will be included in the output of the web page.
Explanation
The include and require statements are used to include files in PHP scripts. This is especially useful when we have a piece of code that needs to be reused across multiple pages of a web application. We can define this code in a separate file and include it in the desired PHP files using the include or require statement.
When we use the include statement, PHP will continue to execute the script even if the specified file is not found. This can result in errors if the file contains important code that needs to be executed for the script to function correctly.
On the other hand, when using the require statement, the script will terminate with a fatal error if the specified file is not found. This ensures that the code will not continue to execute if a critical file is missing.
Use
The include and require statements can be used in PHP scripts to include files that contain code that needs to be reused across multiple pages of a web application. This can help make the code more modular and easier to maintain.
Important Points
- The include and require statements are used in PHP to include files in PHP scripts.
- The include statement will continue to execute the script even if the specified file is not found.
- The require statement will terminate the script with a fatal error if the specified file is not found.
- The include_once and require_once statements can be used to ensure that a file is included only once to prevent errors.
Summary
The include and require statements are used in PHP to include files in PHP scripts. They are useful for reusing common code across multiple pages of a web application. The include statement will continue to execute the script even if the specified file is not found, while the require statement will terminate the script with a fatal error if the specified file is not found.