include('../***') vs include include('./***') difference

[marcnyc]

could somebody please explain the difference between this:

include('./settings.php');

and this:

include('../settings.php');

I always thought that to include a file in the parent folder you'd use two dots but in some scripts and places I saw one dot and right now I am working on a script where if I use the two dots I get an include error and if I use one dot it works, even though the file I am including is in the parent directory.

Thanks for clearing up my confusion

[halojoy]

include('./settings.php');
is to a file in same current directory
Gives same result as this:
include('settings.php');

include('../settings.php');
will go up to a parent directory and get the file

Here /current/ is a subfolder to /parent/
/parent/
my_settings.php
......./current/
........index.php

So include('../my_settings.php'); in index.php
will catch my_settings.php in parent directory

[marcnyc]

I see... thanks, makes sense... so where does the ./ come from and why if it's the same as no dot and slash? who would want to add more characters to their code for no reason?

[halojoy]

In the past there has been servers and situations
where one needed to add ./ in order to get the include or link to work.
So sometimes one needed to add ./
Today I find there is not so often we need to add ./

But good to know.
If it works not with include 'settings.php'
one could try with include './settings.php' and see if that works better.

Not only in includes we can use this. In URL, too:
<a href="../index.php">Home</a>

You might have seen this in directory listings:

.
..
afile
bfile
cfile

Clicking the one dot is for the current directory itself. You stay where you are.
Clicking the two dots is for get up to parent directory listing
So it is same function as
./ stay in the same
../ up one directory

[bradgrafelman]

Some more background/info...

You'll see a lot of "./<file>" syntax if you're working on a remote terminal on a Unix server. This happens because "." (which represents the current directory) isn't a part of the PATH variable (which contains a list of directories that the shell looks in when you specify a relative path). Thus, "./<file>" specifies the location of the file explicitly, rather than allowing the OS to search every directory in the PATH variable.

PHP, however, apparently checks the current directory as a last resort when the file isn't found in any of the directories in the PATH variable.

[palak]

marcnyc;10942135 wrote:

could somebody please explain the difference between this:

include('./settings.php');

and this:

include('../settings.php');

I always thought that to include a file in the parent folder you'd use two dots but in some scripts and places I saw one dot and right now I am working on a script where if I use the two dots I get an include error and if I use one dot it works, even though the file I am including is in the parent directory.

Thanks for clearing up my confusion

You can also use like below for same directory...

include('settings.php');

and for parent directory u cn use.....

include('../settings.php');

simple...🙂

hope this will help u....🙂