using a single variable from a separate file without using import

[Smudly]

I have created a file called onlineusers.php that figures out how many users there currently are online. At the end of the script is a variable that captures the final number. I want to be able to use ONLY this variable in a separate file called members.php

How do I go about doing something like this?

[NogDog]

[man]include[/man] or [man]require[/man]?

[dagon]

you could write that number to a separate file or a db.

[NogDog]

If the issue is that you don't want any output from that file, you could buffer it:

ob_start();
require "path/to/file.php"; // var is not set
ob_end_clean();
// continue with script...

Not necessarily as good as editing a copy of the included file to only do what you need, but it could be a quick fix.