Reputation: 15965

PHP include help

Why does this work:

<?php include "includes/top_nav.php"; ?>

and why does this not work for me?

<?php include "http://localhost/includes/top_nav.php"; ?>

Upvotes: 2

Answers (4)

VoteyDisciple

Reputation: 37813

I see two likely reasons.

First, your server may not be configured to allow URL file access. The error in that case would read, "URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration"

If the include actually works, but doesn't include what you expect, though, that's a whole other story. In that case, the key to understand is how such a request gets processed. While executing the script you shared, your server will perform an HTTP request (to itself) and ask for the output of top_nav.php. This is an entirely new request to the server, so the details about the original request are no longer in play.

The request will be coming from a different user (i.e., Apache) at a different IP address (i.e., your server's address, as opposed to the original client's), with different cookies, with different $_GET data and no $_POST data.

Thus, if top_nav.php in any way examines server variables, environment variables, PHP variables, or any other runtime state when rendering, this will fail.

Upvotes: 2

Matthew Vines

Reputation: 27581

From PHP docs

If "URL fopen wrappers" are enabled in PHP (which they are in the default configuration), you can specify the file to be included using a URL (via HTTP or other supported wrapper - see List of Supported Protocols/Wrappers for a list of protocols) instead of a local pathname.

What is the value of URL fopen wrappers on your server?

Upvotes: 0