PHP Read file Content into String – file_get_contents() Function

PHP file_get_contents() function is used for reading the file contents into a string. This function is also capable to read content from url.

1. filename is the name of file or url.
2. include_path if enabled, Search for the file in the include_path as well
3. context this is set of options to modify the behavior of a stream
4. offset this value specifies starting position of file to read.
5. maxlen this value specifies number of bytes to read.

Syntax

PHP file_get_contents() function uses following syntax.

string file_get_contents(string $filename, bool $include_path = false, resource $context, int $offset = 0, int $maxlen)

Read File Content to String

This php example script will read content from file and store into string variable.

<?php
  $content =  file_get_contents("input.txt");
  echo $content;
?>

Read Content from URL to String

This php example script will read content from url and store into string variable.

<?php
  $content =  file_get_contents("http://example.com");
  echo $content;
?>