8.6 Checking whether a file exists: file_exists()This is NOT the latest copy of this book; click here for the latest version.
bool file_exists ( string filename)
The act of checking whether a file exists is one of the most basic file-related tasks you'll want to do, and thankfully file_exists() makes it as easy as it should be. In fact, it's so easy you should be able to guess the parameter list and return value!
Still here? Oh, alright then - you specify the filename to check as the only parameter, and it returns true if the file exists and false otherwise. Example:
<?php
if (file_exists("snapshot1.png")) {
print "Snapshot1.png exists!\n";
} else {
print "Snapshot1.png does not exist!\n";
}
?>
Although you're only part-way through this book, I hope you managed to guess how it worked yourself!
Author's Note: The result of file_exists() is cached, which means you first need to call the clearstatcache() function if you want to be absolutely sure a file exists.
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