How to Read and Write from Files in PHP ?

In PHP, reading from and writing to files is a common task in web development, especially for tasks such as reading configuration files, processing data files, or logging information. PHP provides built-in functions for handling file operations, making it straightforward to perform file read and write operations.

Reading from a File:

• Use fopen() to open a file pointer.
• Use fgets() or fread( ) to read data from the file.
• Close the file pointer using fclose( ) when done.

Writing to a File:

• Use fopen() with mode 'w' or 'a' to open a file pointer for writing.
• Use fwrite() to write data to the file.
• Close the file pointer using fclose() when done.

Example (Reading from a File):

// Open a file for reading
$handle = fopen("file.txt", "r");

// Read data from the file
while (($line = fgets($handle)) !== false) {
    echo $line;
}

// Close the file handle
fclose($handle);

Example (Writing to a File):

// Open a file for writing (create if not exists, truncate if exists)
$handle = fopen("file.txt", "w");

// Write data to the file
fwrite($handle, "Hello, World!\n");

// Close the file handle
fclose($handle);

Important Points:

• Ensure proper permissions are set on the file and directory to allow read and write operations.
• Handle errors and exceptions appropriately when performing file operations to ensure robustness.