PHP file_get_contents and if returns false

Question

I have a variable that comes from the "file_get_contents()" function. Using this variable with an if function always gives false.

$content = file_get_contents($url);
echo $content; // Echos 1
if ($content == "1") {
    // It doesn't matter if I use 1, '1' or "1"
    echo "True";
}
else {
    echo "False"; // Always echos this one.
}

Make sure the '1' has no whitespace in it. Try trim($content) == "1" — Karlo Kokkak, Mar 17 '18 at 07:05
If you get the contents of a URL it's highly likely that it includes ` ` and other tags. They don't appear on screen, but they are still there. As tkausl said, var_dump. Or try `if(trim(strip_tags($content)) ==1)` this will remove html tags and extra white spaces. — Andreas, Mar 17 '18 at 07:22
Most probably `$content` is "1\n" (`1` followed by a newline character). — axiac, Mar 17 '18 at 07:28
Also, make sure file_get_contents fetches from url successfully. It returns FALSE if it fails to. — Karlo Kokkak, Mar 17 '18 at 08:31
@Karlo OP says the echo returns `1`. That means file_get_contents does not fail. — Andreas, Mar 17 '18 at 08:36
@Andreas I thought maybe he means it 'should' echo 1, therefore another possible solution. — Karlo Kokkak, Mar 17 '18 at 08:42

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 17 '18 at 07:21

1

I think it could be better catch false in case failure (http://php.net/manual/en/function.file-get-contents.php)

$content = file_get_contents($url);
if ($content === false) {
    echo "False"; // or throw exception
}

echo "True";

answered Mar 17 '18 at 07:21

Laky

171
1
9

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 17 '18 at 09:28

Your comparison fails because $content isn't what you think it is.

Most likely there are <html> tags or whitespace characters (like \n).

Make a hexdump of your content to see exactly what you are getting back from file_get_contents.

Hex dump function implemented in PHP.

Example:

$content = file_get_contents($url);

hex_dump($content);

Once you know what's inside $content you can filter it accordingly (strip_tags and trim were mentioned in the comments.)

PHP file_get_contents and if returns false

2 Answers2