PHP highlight_file() Function

❮ PHP Misc Reference

Example

Using a test file ("test.php") to output the file with the PHP syntax highlighted:

<html>
<body>
<?php
highlight_file("test.php");
?>
</body>
</html>

The browser output of the code above could be (depending on the content in your file):

<html>
<body>
<?php
echo ("test.php");
?>
</body>
</html>

The HTML output of the code above could be (View Source):

<html>
<body>
<code><span style="color: #000000">
&lt;html&gt;
<br />&lt;body&gt;
<br /><span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php
<br /></span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"test.php"</span><span style="color: #007700">);
<br /></span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;
<br /></span>&lt;/body&gt;
<br />&lt;/html&gt;</span>
</code>
</body>
</html>
Try it Yourself »


Definition and Usage

The highlight_file() function outputs a file with the PHP syntax highlighted. The syntax is highlighted by using HTML tags.

Tip: The colors used for syntax highlighting can be set in the php.ini file or with the ini_set() function.

Note: When using this function, the entire file will be displayed - including passwords and any other sensitive information!


Syntax

highlight_file(filename,return)

Parameter Values

Parameter Description
filename Required. Specifies the file to be highlighted
return Optional. If set to TRUE, this function will return the highlighted code as a string, instead of printing it out. Default is FALSE

Technical Details

Return Value: If the return parameter is set to TRUE, this function returns the highlighted code as a string instead of printing it out. Otherwise, it returns TRUE on success, or FALSE on failure
PHP Version: 4+
Changelog: PHP 4.2.1 - This function is now also affected by safe_mode and open_basedir. However, safe_mode was deprecated and removed in PHP 5.4.
PHP 4.2 - The return parameter was added.

❮ PHP Misc Reference
Copyright 1999-2023 by Refsnes Data. All Rights Reserved.