PHP opendir() Function

PHP Directory Functions

Example

Open a directory, read its contents, and then close it:

<?php
$dir = "/images/";
// Open the directory and read its contents
if (is_dir($dir)){
  if ($dh = opendir($dir){
    while (($file = readdir($dh)) !== false){
      echo "filename:" . $file . "<br>";
    }
    closedir($dh);
  }
}
?>

Result:

filename: cat.gif
filename: dog.gif
filename: horse.gif

Definition and Usage

The opendir() function opens a directory handle.

Syntax

opendir(path,context);
Parameters Description
path Required. Specifies the directory path to be opened.
context Optional. Specifies the environment of the directory handle.context It is a set of options that modify the behavior of the directory stream.

Technical Details

Return Value:

Returns a directory handle resource on success. Returns FALSE on failure.

If the path is not a valid directory, or the directory cannot be opened due to permission restrictions or file system errors, an E_WARNING level error is thrown.

You can hide the error output of opendir() by adding '@' before the function name.
PHP Version: 4.0+
PHP Update Log: PHP 5.0:path The parameter now supports ftp:// URL encapsulation protocol.

PHP Directory Functions