What is the purpose of the touch() function in PHP?

The touch() function in PHP is used to create a new file if it does not already exist, or update the last access and modification timestamps of an existing file. This function is commonly used when you need to ensure a file exists or update its timestamps without modifying its content.

// Example usage of touch() function to create or update file timestamps
$filename = 'example.txt';

// Create the file if it doesn't exist
if (!file_exists($filename)) {
    touch($filename);
}

// Update the file timestamps
touch($filename);