What are the advantages of using fopen() over read() in PHP for checking the availability of URLs?

Using fopen() in PHP to check the availability of URLs has several advantages over using read(). fopen() allows for more control over the HTTP request headers, which can be useful for checking specific response codes or headers. Additionally, fopen() provides better error handling capabilities, making it easier to handle connection errors or timeouts. Finally, fopen() simplifies the process of reading the response content from the URL. 

$url = 'https://www.example.com';

$handle = @fopen($url, 'r');
if ($handle !== false) {
    // URL is reachable
    fclose($handle);
    echo 'URL is reachable.';
} else {
    // URL is not reachable
    echo 'URL is not reachable.';
}

Keywords

fopen read URLs availability PHP

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