Why does file_put_contents not append data to a file?

Question

I have a complex php4 code and want to write something to a file, using file_put_contents, like the following:

$iCounter = 0;
foreach blah...
    ... code
    file_put_contents("/tmp/debug28364363264936214", "test" . $iCounter++ . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
    ...code

I am using FILE_APPEND to append the data to the given file, I am sure that what I print does not contain control characters, the random number sequence makes sure the file is not used in any other context, and the counter variable (only used for the printout) is used to control how often file_put_contents is called.

Executing the code and looking at the file content I just see

test8

while I expect to see

test1
test2
test3
test4
test5
test6
test7
test8

Is there a problem with my syntax? Maybe the code does not work for php4? What else can I use instead?

P.S. I am working on a very large, quite ancient php4 project, so there is no way to recode the project in php5. Not within 2 years...

Because file_put_contents() ___overwrites___ the existing file, as per the documentation — Mark Baker, Jun 22 '13 at 09:36
It should work .... perfectly what version and os are you using ? Please note that `file_put_contents` is PHP5 not PHP4 ??? — Baba, Jun 22 '13 at 09:39
Its 4.4.9-pl0-gentoo on 2.6.30-gentoo-r4. But if this function only exists in PHP5, why do I get something? It should not work at all I would assume. — Alex, Jun 22 '13 at 09:43
@MarkBaker there is a caveat, you can use `FILE_APPEND` as a flag on 3rd param. I also didn't know this till today, which is why i love SO :) — DevZer0, Jun 22 '13 at 09:52
@Alex the PHP doc says (PHP 5) not sure why you have it in 4 but the date `FILE_APPEND` was introduced was not specified either .. — Baba, Jun 22 '13 at 09:57
the code might be in php4 but it should work in php5 if using php5 which you should be. you just need to recode the errors. — amigura, Jun 22 '13 at 10:25
@Alex i am sure i answer the question 1 hr before chosen answer with the same answer. — amigura, Jun 22 '13 at 14:19

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 22 '13 at 11:22

4

use fopen(); file_put_contents() is php5.

$file = fopen("/tmp/debug28364363264936214", "a+");
fwrite($file, "test" . $iCounter++ . "\n");
fclose($file);

answered Jun 22 '13 at 11:22

Panama Jack

24,158
10
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amigura · Answer 2 · 2013-06-22T10:37:00.840

you can use foreach it there is an array input it will be a similuar procedure

for ($iCounter = 1; $iCounter <= 10; $iCounter++) {

$test_var .= "test" . $iCounter . PHP_EOL;

}


if (file_exists("/tmp/debug28364363264936214")) {

file_put_contents("/tmp/debug28364363264936214", $test_var, FILE_APPEND);

    echo "The file was written";
} else {
    echo "The file was not written";
}

php4 code

if (file_exists("/tmp/debug28364363264936214")) {

$fp = fopen('/tmp/debug28364363264936214', 'a');
fwrite($fp, $test_var);
fclose($fp);

    echo "The file was written";
} else {
    echo "The file was not written";
}

your code might be in php4 but it should work in php5 if using php5 which you should be. you just need to recode the errors.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 22 '13 at 09:36

0

if you want to append data then do as follows

 $file = "yourfile.txt";
 $data = file_get_contents($file);
 $data =  $data . $newdata;
 file_put_contents($file, $data);

answered Jun 22 '13 at 09:36

DevZer0

13,433
7
27
51

But whyn is my code not working? Or why does it somewhat work for php4? – Alex Jun 22 '13 at 09:47

Why does file_put_contents not append data to a file?

3 Answers3