Difference between file_get_contents and cURL in PHP
Last Updated :
13 Sep, 2021
file_get_contents() Function: This PHP function is used to retrieve the contents of a file. The contents can be stored as a string variable. Alternatively, it also simulates HTTP transactions, involving requests via GET method and responses using POST method respectively. Primarily, it is best-suited for simple HTTP manipulations and to get single-line JSON responses.
Example:
PHP
<?php
$homepage = file_get_contents (
echo $homepage ;
?>
|
Output: It will redirect to GeeksforGeeks home page.
cURL: It is a third party library that simulates HTTP requests and responses in a much more efficient way. It can handle asynchronous HTTP requests and complex communications like callback functions or break point continual transferring. It is also suitable for carrying out cross-domain based FTP request. Also, it can be used in different applications like proxy setup and Website Scraping etc.
Example:
PHP
<?php
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt( $ch , CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt( $ch , CURLOPT_URL, $url );
$result = curl_exec( $ch );
echo $result ;
?>
|
Output: It will redirect to GeeksforGeeks home page.
file_get_contents() Method |
cURL |
Handles simple HTTP communications. |
Handles complex HTTP communications. |
Supports simple HTTP GET and HTTP POST operations. |
Supports HTTP PUT, certificates in addition to GET and POST requests. |
Doesn’t support caching, cookies, etc. |
Supports caching, cookies progress reporting etc. |
It uses HTTP and HTTPS protocols for communications. |
It uses HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS protocols. |
It can be used to read the file content. |
It can be used to read, edit, update, delete files from server. |
Slow in operation. |
Secure and fast in operation. |
Easy to understand. |
Complex to understand. |
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