readlink in PHP

readlink — Returns the target of a symbolic link
Syntax:

string readlink ( string $path )
readlink() does the same as the readlink C function.

Parameters:

path
The symbolic link path.

Changelog ¶

Version Description
5.3.0 This function is now available on Windows platforms (Vista, Server 2008 or greater).
Return values: Returns the contents of the symbolic link path or FALSE on error.



Example #1 readlink() example

<?php

// output e.g. /boot/vmlinux-2.4.20-xfs
echo readlink('/vmlinuz');

?>

is_link in PHP

is_link — Tells whether the filename is a symbolic link
Syntax:

bool is_link ( string $filename )
Tells whether the given file is a symbolic link.

Parameters:

filename
Path to the file.

Return values: Returns TRUE if the filename exists and is a symbolic link, FALSE otherwise.



Example #1 Create and confirm if a file is a symbolic link

<?php
$link = 'uploads';

if (is_link($link)) {
    echo(readlink($link));
} else {
    symlink('uploads.php', $link);
}
?>
Errors/Exceptions ¶

Upon failure, an E_WARNING is emitted.



Note: The results of this function are cached. See clearstatcache() for more details.
Tip
As of PHP 5.0.0, this function can also be used with some URL wrappers. Refer to Supported Protocols and Wrappers to determine which wrappers support stat() family of functionality.