[Resolved] Ultra-Simple Question - PHP Include

[partypete]

Hello,

(I did do a search because it was so simple but didn't find the answer... :rolleyes: )

I'm just confused why this include doesn't work:

<?php include("/includes/document.php"); ?>

I use Dreamweaver MX to build sites and it recognizes this code, but when viewed on my server, the include does not work.

This works:

<?php include("http://www.mysite.com/includes/document.php"); ?>

...but is a small extra step adding the domain.

I would like to know why the first include doesn't work. Is it a problem with my server?

Thanks

[swr]

Because there is no file on the server called "/includes/document.php".

You probably meant to write include("/path/to/web/root/includes/document.php"). In php, includes that start with a / go to the root directory of the server, not the root directory of the current site. This allows you to have a master include directory somewhere used by multiple sites.

The second one works (sort of) becuase it makes an HTTP request. Unfortunately what gets included is the parsed output (what would get sent to the browser if you punched in that URL), which is no good if you want to define PHP functions and variables in the include.

I recommend having a .htaccess (or equivalent for your web server) to set the php_include_path config variable to the directory where you store your includes, then include("document.php") without any slashes.

[partypete]

Ahhh I see. I'll go figure out how to do the htaccess thing.

Thanks!