PHP: clear a text file if it exceeds 50 lines

Question

OK, what am I missing? I am trying to clear a file if it exceeds 50 lines.

This is what I have so far.

$file = 'idata.txt';
$lines = count file($file);
if ($lines > 50){
$fh = fopen( 'idata.txt', 'w' );
fclose($fh);
}

@Starx syntax errors like this should be deleted IMO... Not really a question that contributes anything to SO. — brbcoding, May 13 '13 at 17:36
@brbcoding, Semantically correct but I think demoting such question will decrease a lot of participation on Stackoverflow. — Starx, May 13 '13 at 17:41

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered May 13 '13 at 17:26

2

$file = 'idata.txt';
$lines = count(file($file));
if ($lines > 50){
$fh = fopen( 'idata.txt', 'w' );
fclose($fh);
}

answered May 13 '13 at 17:26

Funk Forty Niner

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Too bad I don't get points for comments :P – brbcoding May 13 '13 at 17:28
1

@brbcoding Too bad we couldn't split/share the points. Call it a "joint venture" ;-) – Funk Forty Niner May 13 '13 at 17:33
YES that did it, I must be tried should have caught that. THANK YALL! – ToxicMouse May 13 '13 at 17:40
@ToxicMouse This way loads the file on the memory. Very risky way to solve the problem. Very large file will take long time to give `count(file($file))` – Starx May 13 '13 at 17:42

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered May 13 '13 at 17:30

If files really can be big you better loop:

$file="verylargefile.txt";
$linecount = 0;
$handle = fopen($file, "r");
while(!feof($handle)){
  $line = fgets($handle);
  $linecount++;
  if(linecount > 50)
  {
      break;
  }
}

Should do the job, and not the whole file in memory.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered May 13 '13 at 17:30

0

Syntax of count is wrong.Replace this line count file($file); by

count(file($file));

answered May 13 '13 at 17:30

Ritesh Kumar Gupta

5,055
7
45
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This exact answer is right below you. Posted 5 minutes earlier. – brbcoding May 13 '13 at 17:32
The answer that was posted 5 minutes earlier just include the fixed code. Not even single word of explanation. Want to pin-point the exact error , that's why posted the answer. – Ritesh Kumar Gupta May 13 '13 at 17:35

Starx · Answer 4 · 2013-05-13T17:44:09.363

You have an error in your syntax, it should be count(file($file)); Using this method is not recommended for larger file as it loads the file onto the memory. Thus, it will not be helpful in case of large files. Here is another way to solve this:

$file="idata.txt";
$linecount = 0;
$handle = fopen($file, "r");
while(!feof($handle)){
  if($linecount > 50) {
      //if the file is more than 50
      fclosh($handle); //close the previous handle

      // YOUR CODE
      $handle = fopen( 'idata.txt', 'w' ); 
      fclose($handle);  
  }
  $linecount++;
}

PHP: clear a text file if it exceeds 50 lines

4 Answers4