appending to beginning of a file

[Anon]

I would like to know, how could I write to the beginning of a file. I know how to do it. I use the "r+" or "r" in fopen. Only problem is how do I get it to not erase what ever was in the beginning of the file. Everytime I write to a file, it doesn't wipe the entire file but it just erases whatever it writes over.

How do I make my script not write over the contents of a file. I need this info becouse I am making a newscaster system.

Joey

[[deleted]]

Well, I would just read the whole file into a string, wipe the file, write the new info and then write back the old info....

Matt Wade
codewalkers.com

[Anon]

For safety, I'd amend that slightly:
1) Start a new file (using tempnam()) with the new info
2) Read the old file
3) Append the old file to the new file
4) Delete the old file
5) Rename the new file to the old name

That way there's no downtime while the file is absent and you can check to see if you really do have a new file before deleting the old one 🙂

Then I'd ask myself if I'd be better off using a database.