include() or get_file_contents() which is better? [closed]

Question

i am developing a function which return a value on give file name but include() in not return able which function should i use get_file_contents() is return able function or is there is any other class or function which return a value of given file

function  myfunction($file){
$get = include($file);
return $get;

}

something like this

myfunction('/home/files/test.php');

Answer 1

By your vague question, I'm guessing you want to retrieve the file name?

Using either include or file_get_contents will not yield the results you want, not at all. include executed the files, whereas file_get_contents retrieves the actual textual representation of the file(gets the contents).

What you want is basename.

Given a string containing the path to a file or directory, this function will return the trailing name component.

From: http://php.net/manual/en/function.basename.php

Probable usage of the function within your script would be as follows:

function myfunction($file) {
   return basename($file);
}