In what situations should developers use absolute paths versus relative paths when specifying file locations in PHP code for file operations?

Developers should use absolute paths when specifying file locations in PHP code for file operations if they want to ensure the file is always accessed from the same location regardless of where the script is executed from. Relative paths are typically used when the file is located in the same directory or a subdirectory relative to the script. Using absolute paths can prevent issues with file access when scripts are executed from different locations. 

// Using absolute path
$file = '/var/www/html/myfile.txt';
$contents = file_get_contents($file);

// Using relative path
$file = 'subdirectory/myfile.txt';
$contents = file_get_contents($file);

Keywords

absolute paths relative paths file locations file operations PHP code

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