7.8 Processing a Directory File-by-File

You want to process a directory file-by-file, the same way that you would process a file line-by-line with fgets() .

Technique

Either use the dir() function and manipulate the directory via a pseudo-object, or use the opendir() , readdir() , and closedir() functions to read the directory.

1. Using dir()

    $dh = dir ($directory_name); while ($entry = $dh->read()) {     print $entry . "\n"; } $dh->close(); 

2. Using opendir() , readdir() , and closedir()

    $dh = opendir ($directory_name); while ($entry = readdir ($dh)) {     print $entry . "\n"; } closedir ($dh); 

Comments

Both solutions will work equally well; which one you choose is a matter of preference. The dir() function actually calls opendir() and creates an object that calls the corresponding functions in the second solution, so when you call $dh->read() , you are really calling readdir($dh) . As a matter of practice, I use the first solution just because I enjoy using the object interface.

You might have noticed that the functions PHP offers are much like the C functions for manipulating directories. In fact, readdir() , rewinddir() , opendir() , and closedir() are simply wrappers for the C functions.