Include file format

Question

I have used includes with .shtml, .asp and now I am working
in php.
The way DW puts the include is <?php
require_once('includes/includefile.inc'); ?>
Is this the way it is included in a php file?

Answer 1

.oO(polar_bare)
>Michael,
>
> I am new to php, so if I store it outside the root
directory what does that
>mean. I have them in a directory named "includes", is
that what you are talking
>about, or are you talking about outside the website root
directory.
Yep, that's what I said.
> Sorry, I am just a little confused.
>
> <?php include('includes/includefile.php'); ?>
>
> Now that is just off the root directory. If I use this
in a file that is in
>one directory deep, then would this be
> <?php include('../includes/leftNavOne.php'); ?>
Yes, for example, even if I prefer absolute paths. The
predefined
variable $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] contains the physical path
to your
website root. You can use this to access your includes, e.g.
include
$_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'].'/../includes/leftNavOne.php';
The simple reasons for doing this are:
1) Files outsite the document root cannot be accessed by any
URL. It
would require a direct server login to get those files, so
they can be
considered safe there. No web user would be able to access
them.
2) Absolute paths work always, while relative paths can be a
bit tricky
in some situations.
Micha