The fread Function

The fread function reads data from an open file. The first parameter is a file pointer (resource) obtained via fopen, and the second is the maximum number of bytes to read. The function returns the read data or false on error.

Syntax

phpfread(resource $handle, int $length): string|false

Example

Read the first 10 bytes from a file:

php<?php
  $file = fopen('data.txt', 'r');
  $res = fread($file, 10);
  fclose($file);
  echo $res;
?>

Code execution result:

php'Some text '

Example

Read the entire file:

php<?php
  $file = fopen('data.txt', 'r');
  $res = fread($file, filesize('data.txt'));
  fclose($file);
  echo $res;
?>

Code execution result:

php'Complete file content'

Example

Read a file in parts:

php<?php
  $file = fopen('data.txt', 'r');
  while (!feof($file)) {
    echo fread($file, 5) . "\n";
  }
  fclose($file);
?>

Code execution result:

php'First'
' part'
' of t'
'ext'

See Also