File path in php require

Question

I've inherited some code:

include('../cfg/db_setup.php');
require('./fpdf/fpdf.php');

I know that ../cfg means start in the current directory, then go up one level and down into the cfg dir. What does the ./fpdf mean? I've never seen a single dot slash used in a file path, and can't seem to find the fpdf directory anywhere on our server, but the code is working so apparently it's there somewhere.

current directory. btw this is not a good practice for PHP includes. You should use include (dirname(FILE)."../cfg/db_setup.php") to provide absolute paths, not those related to the current directory (that might change by many means) — AbiusX
– AbiusX, Commented Mar 15, 2011 at 21:30
I'm aware of that, thanks. Like I said, this is code I inherited. I need to find all the referenced files before I can start dealing with absolute paths. — EmmyS
– EmmyS, Commented Mar 15, 2011 at 21:46

Francesco Terenzani · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-16 00:10:47Z

22

Just a note.

Relative paths don't are relative to the current include_path.

Relative paths, such as . or ../ are relative to the current working directory. The working directory is different if you run a script on CGI or command line or if a script is included by another script in another directory.

Therefore theoretically is not possible to be sure where these paths are pointing to without to know the context :P

To be sure, if PHP < 5.3:

include(dirname(__FILE__) . '/../cfg/db_setup.php');
require(dirname(__FILE__) . '/fpdf/fpdf.php');

If PHP >= 5.3:

include(__DIR__ . '/../cfg/db_setup.php');
require(__DIR__ . '/fpdf/fpdf.php');

edited Mar 16, 2011 at 0:10

answered Mar 15, 2011 at 22:58

Francesco Terenzani

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Jeff Rupert · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-15 21:22:24Z

4

. is defined as the current folder.

So, if the PHP script is located at /path/to/script/, then the second statement will look for /path/to/script/fpdf/fpdf.php

answered Mar 15, 2011 at 21:22

Jeff Rupert

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1 Comment

EmmyS Over a year ago

Thank you. I'm not used to dealing with relative paths.

Leniency · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-15 21:22:00Z

2

./ is the current directory. ./fpdf/ should be on the same path as the including file, or somewhere on the off the php include_path.

answered Mar 15, 2011 at 21:22

Leniency

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azat · Accepted Answer · 2011-03-15 21:21:48Z

0

./ - this means in the current path

answered Mar 15, 2011 at 21:21

azat

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