PHP dir() Function

Definition and Usage

The dir() function opens a directory handle and returns an object. The object contains three methods called read() , rewind() , and close() .
This function returns a directory stream on success and FALSE and an error on failure. You can hide the error output by adding an '@' in front of the function name.

Syntax

dir(directory)

Parameter Description
directory Required. Specifies the directory to stream


Example 1

<?php
//Open images directory
$dir = dir("images");

//List files in images directory
while (($file = $dir->read()) !== false)
{
echo "filename: " . $file . "<br />";
}

$dir->close();
?>

OUTPUT :
filename: .
filename: ..
filename: cat.gif
filename: dog.gif
filename: food
filename: horse.gif


Example 2

This example hides the error if dir() fails:
<?php
//Open images directory
$dir = @ dir("images");

//List files in images directory
while (($file = $dir->read()) !== false)
  {
  echo "filename: " . $file . "<br />";
  }

$dir->close();
?> 
 
OUTPUT :
filename: .
filename: ..
filename: cat.gif
filename: dog.gif
filename: food
filename: horse.gif