PHP/file/name

PHP filesystem access functionality folders/directories and file metadata

About

PHP's functionality for managing folders is a mix of classes and standalone functions.

To get a directory listing:

• «dir()» accepts a filepath to an existing folder and returns a «Directory» object.
• «glob()» accepts a filespec that includes a file mask, and returns a list of matching filespecs.
  • A file mask in this context can be e.g. «*.php» or «/home/woozle/*.php» but not «~/*.php».
  • The «*» and «?» wildcards are both recognized.
  • The mask may include multiple wildcards, for folders as well as files. Example: «/b*/b*» will return all files beginning with b inside root-level folders beginning with b.

To parse a filespec:

• «basename()» returns the last element of a filespec, with some options.
• «dirname()» returns the filepath to the given file/folder's parent folder.
• «pathinfo()» breaks a filespec down into multiple components.
• «realpath()» returns a de-contextualized canonical absolute filespec.

Related

• file: file access functions

Reference

• File System Related Extensions: also includes some file-related extensions
  • Directories extension
  • Directory class
    • «Directory» objects are created with the dir() method.
  • Filesystem extension
    • This is where all the most common PHP file[sys]-related functions are kept.