Include Vs Require

[rebel]

hi,

 

i'm just wondering what the difference is between 'require' and 'include' in php.

 

just to illustrate my point, 'a.php' includes the following lines

<?php

function a() {

......

}

?>\n\n\n (which get added every time i edit a file in cpanel for some reason)

 

and in 'b.php', if i use

 

require 'a.php'

header("Content-type.........

 

it would fail because the "\n\n" will be sent before the header, and of course header information can't be sent after there's already been output.

 

but the problem goes away if i use 'include' instead of 'require'.

 

why is that????

[MikeJ]

Taken directly from PHP.net:

The two constructs are identical in every way except how they handle failure. include() produces a Warning while require()  results in a Fatal Error. In other words, use require() if you want a missing file to halt processing of the page. include() does not behave this way, the script will continue regardless.

 

So basically, require is just a little more strict, and better to use if the included file is required for the rest of the script/page to function properly.

 

Not sure about the header part, maybe someone who codes in it more regularly can chime in.

Edited December 21, 2004 by TCH-MikeJ

[TCH-Don]

If you are going to use the header function

you must not output anything even a space before calling it

and when you include or require, you have to check each file for any output

look for blank lines with a space.

its best to put anything you need to output from an included file into a string and then output it after the header function.

 

Cpanels file manager is not the best for editing php.

You should get a good text editor.

[rebel]

Cpanels file manager is not the best for editing php.

You should get a good text editor.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

yeah think i've got that one sorted out... thanks guys.....

and yeah the only reason i edit it in cpanel is because it's probably easier....