[SOLVED] <?php ?> Tags in Included Files

[Mzor]

So, this is something I've been wondering about, and worrying about. Most of my PHP documents will have something like:

 

<?php

include ('./include/header.php');

//Content goes here

include ('./include/footer.php');

?>

 

Not something we haven't all seen before, but often my 'header.php' file contains PHP tags itself. Say the header consisted of this:

 

//Html stuff and CSS rules here

<?php

if(isset($_SESSION['username'])){
   echo 'Hello, ' . $_SESSION['username'];
}

?>

 

Then, logically, the file should end up like this, when the header file was included:

 

<?php

//Html stuff and CSS rules here

<?php

if(isset($_SESSION['username'])){
   echo 'Hello, ' . $_SESSION['username'];
}

?>

//Content goes here

include ('./include/footer.php');

?>

 

Not only, then, would the HTML and CSS be inside the PHP, tags, there would be PHP tags inside the PHP tags, meaning that the 'include ('./include/footer.php');' should be ignored... yet it always works for me...

 

Can someone explain so I don't end up making mistakes with this later which I'll nver be able to figure out?

[corbin]

PHP's include command isn't a preprocessor directive (in the C/C++ sense), it's more of a language construct (well, actually it is a construct).

 

 

When ever you include a file, the content isn't just smacked into the file and parsed.  The file is opened in "text" mode (to simplify things), therefore, to switch back to PHP, tags are needed again in the file.

[pcw]

Using the PHP tags <?php and ?> will not have any effect when including a file or files that also contain these tags.

[jlhaslip]

an "included" file will be handled as text/html until it sees those php tokens.

[Mzor]

Okay... thanks, that makes more sense, lol.