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# file_get_contents

(PHP 4 >= 4.3.0, PHP 5)

file_get_contents -- Reads entire file into a string

## Description

string file_get_contents ( string filename [, bool use_include_path [, resource context]])

Identical to file(), except that file_get_contents() returns the file in a string. On failure, file_get_contents() will return `FALSE`.

file_get_contents() 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.

> Note: This function is binary-safe.

> Tip: You can use a URL as a filename with this function if the fopen wrappers have been enabled. See fopen() for more details on how to specify the filename and Appendix J for a list of supported URL protocols.

> Note: Context support was added with `PHP 5.0.0`.

Warning
Some non-standard compliant webservers, such as IIS, send data in a way that causes PHP to raise warnings. When working with such servers you should lower your error_reporting level not to include warnings.

See also: fgets(), file(), fread(), include(), and readfile().

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