How can PHP users prevent an infinite loop when copying folders?

To prevent an infinite loop when copying folders in PHP, users can keep track of the folders that have been copied using an array. Before copying a folder, check if it has already been copied to avoid duplicating the process. 

function copyFolder($source, $destination, &$copiedFolders = array()) {
    if (in_array($source, $copiedFolders)) {
        return;
    }

    $copiedFolders[] = $source;

    // Copy the folder contents here

    foreach (scandir($source) as $item) {
        if ($item == '.' || $item == '..') {
            continue;
        }

        $itemSource = $source . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $item;
        $itemDestination = $destination . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $item;

        if (is_dir($itemSource)) {
            copyFolder($itemSource, $itemDestination, $copiedFolders);
        } else {
            copy($itemSource, $itemDestination);
        }
    }
}

// Usage
copyFolder('/path/to/source/folder', '/path/to/destination/folder');

Keywords

PHP infinite loop copying folders file system recursion

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