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【Comprehensive Guide to PHP pathinfo() Function: Quickly Extract File Path Information】

M66 2025-06-22

PHP pathinfo() Function Overview

In web development, it's common to work with file paths to extract information such as filenames, extensions, or directory structures. PHP offers many built-in functions to handle these tasks, and one particularly useful function is pathinfo().

Syntax of pathinfo()

pathinfo($path, $options);

  • $path: Required parameter representing the file path to be parsed.

  • $options: Optional parameter to specify which part of the path to return (directory, filename, etc.).

By default, the function returns an associative array containing:

  • dirname: Directory portion of the path

  • basename: Filename including extension

  • extension: File extension

  • filename: Filename without extension

Common pathinfo() Options

You can use the following constants to specify the part of the path you want:

  • PATHINFO_DIRNAME: Returns the directory name.

  • PATHINFO_BASENAME: Returns the filename including extension.

  • PATHINFO_EXTENSION: Returns the file extension.

  • PATHINFO_FILENAME: Returns the filename without extension.

Code Example: Using pathinfo()

Here's an example demonstrating how to extract file information using pathinfo():

<?php
// Example file path
$path = "/home/user/www/example.php";

// Get directory part
$dirname = pathinfo($path, PATHINFO_DIRNAME);
echo "Directory: " . $dirname . "\n";

// Get filename with extension
$basename = pathinfo($path, PATHINFO_BASENAME);
echo "Filename: " . $basename . "\n";

// Get extension
$extension = pathinfo($path, PATHINFO_EXTENSION);
echo "Extension: " . $extension . "\n";

// Get filename without extension
$filename = pathinfo($path, PATHINFO_FILENAME);
echo "Filename (without extension): " . $filename . "\n";
?>

Output Result

Running the above code will output:

Directory: /home/user/www
Filename: example.php
Extension: php
Filename (without extension): example

Use Cases and Summary

In practice, pathinfo() is commonly used for:

  • Handling file uploads and file path processing;

  • Determining file type or extension;

  • Extracting filenames for renaming or storage;

  • Automatically generating file download links.

To summarize:

  • pathinfo() is a powerful PHP function for extracting path information;

  • It provides flexible constants to retrieve specific parts;

  • Easy to use and greatly improves efficiency in file handling tasks.

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