How can the file_exists function be used with absolute path references in PHP?

When using the file_exists function in PHP with absolute path references, it is important to ensure that the path is correctly formatted. Absolute paths start with the root directory of the file system, such as "/var/www/html/file.txt". By providing the full absolute path, the file_exists function can accurately check for the existence of the file.

$absolute_path = "/var/www/html/file.txt";

if (file_exists($absolute_path)) {
    echo "File exists!";
} else {
    echo "File does not exist.";
}