What is the difference between using copy() and file_get_contents() for transferring files in PHP?

When transferring files in PHP, the main difference between using copy() and file_get_contents() is that copy() is used to copy a file from one location to another, while file_get_contents() is used to read the contents of a file into a string. If you want to transfer a file as-is from one location to another, you should use copy(). If you want to read the contents of a file and then transfer that data, you should use file_get_contents(). 

// Using copy() to transfer a file
$source = 'source.txt';
$destination = 'destination.txt';
if (copy($source, $destination)) {
    echo 'File transferred successfully.';
} else {
    echo 'File transfer failed.';
}

// Using file_get_contents() to transfer file contents
$source = 'source.txt';
$contents = file_get_contents($source);
$destination = 'destination.txt';
file_put_contents($destination, $contents);
echo 'File contents transferred successfully.';

Keywords

copy file_get_contents transferring files PHP difference

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