What is the purpose of using a config file in PHP and how can it be effectively integrated into a project?

Using a config file in PHP allows for the centralization of configuration settings such as database credentials, API keys, and other constants used throughout a project. This helps to maintain a clean and organized codebase, as well as make it easier to update configuration settings without having to search through multiple files. 

// config.php

return [
    'db_host' => 'localhost',
    'db_name' => 'my_database',
    'db_user' => 'root',
    'db_pass' => 'password123'
];

// index.php

$config = require 'config.php';

$db = new PDO("mysql:host={$config['db_host']};dbname={$config['db_name']}", $config['db_user'], $config['db_pass']);

Keywords

config file PHP integration project purpose

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