What is the unlink() function in PHP?
Overview
The unlink function in PHP deletes a file. However, it should not be confused with the unset function in PHP, which is used to empty the file rather than delete it. The general syntax for the unlink function is:
unlink(string ＄filename, resource ＄context = ?): bool
Parameters
The unlink function has one compulsory parameter and one optional parameter. filename is the name of the file you wish to delete and is compulsory. The context parameter is optional and sets the behavior of the stream.
Return value
The unlink function returns true upon successfully deleting a file. However, if it fails, it will generate an E_Warning.
Example
The following example will help you understand the unlink function better. As shown below, the file main.txt is opened for writing and then closed using the fopen, fwrite, and fclose functions. Then, we use the unlink function and print its return value, demonstrating that the file has been successfully deleted.
<?php$file = fopen("main.txt","w");fwrite($file,"File testing");fclose($file);echo(unlink("main.txt"));?>
RELATED TAGS
CONTRIBUTOR
