<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
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  <refentry id="function.file-get-contents">
   <refnamediv>
    <refname>file_get_contents</refname> 
    <refpurpose>Reads entire file into a string</refpurpose>
   </refnamediv>
   <refsect1>
    <title>Description</title>
     <methodsynopsis>
      <type>string</type><methodname>file_get_contents</methodname>
      <methodparam><type>string</type><parameter>filename</parameter></methodparam>
      <methodparam choice="opt"><type>bool</type><parameter>use_include_path</parameter></methodparam>
      <methodparam choice="opt"><type>resource</type><parameter>context</parameter></methodparam>
     </methodsynopsis>
    <para> 
     Identical to <function>file</function>, except that
     <function>file_get_contents</function> returns the file in a string.
     On failure, <function>file_get_contents</function> will return &false;.
    </para>
    <para>
     <function>file_get_contents</function> is the preferred way to read the
     contents of a file into a string.  It will use memory mapping techniques if
     supported by your OS to enhance performance.
    </para>
    <example>
     <title>Using <function>file_get_contents</function> with a URI</title>
     <para>
      If you're opening a URI with special characters, such as spaces, you need to encode
      the URI with <function>urlencode</function>.
     </para>
     <programlisting role="php">
<![CDATA[
<?php
$url = "http://foobar.com/with funny chars";
list($protocol, $uri) = split("//", $url);
$html = file_get_contents($proto . "//" . urlencode($uri));
?>
]]>
     </programlisting>
    </example>
    &note.bin-safe;
    &tip.fopen-wrapper;
    &note.context-support;
    &warn.ssl-non-standard;
    <simpara>
     See also <function>fgets</function>, <function>file</function>, 
     <function>fread</function>, <function>include</function>, 
     and <function>readfile</function>.
    </simpara>
   </refsect1>
  </refentry>

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