PHP basename() Function | Get Filename from Path

The PHP basename() function is used to get the file name from the specified path. For example:

<?php
   $path = "C:/Users/DEV/fresherearth.com/myfile.txt";
   echo basename($path);
?>

The output of the above PHP example is:

And here is the snapshot of the directory and path along with the file used in the above example:

PHP basename() Syntax

The syntax of the basename() function in PHP is:

basename(path, suffix)

The second, or suffix, parameter is optional. This parameter is used when we need to remove the extension of the file so that we only get the file name. For example:

<?php
   $path = "C:/Users/DEV/fresherearth.com/myfile.txt";
   echo basename($path, ".txt");
?>

This code defines a variable $path that contains the file path "C:/Users/DEV/fresherearth.com/myfile.txt". The path uses forward slashes to separate directories, which is the recommended practice for compatibility across different platforms. The function basename() is then called with two arguments: $path and ".txt." The basename() function parses the path and returns the file name as a string. The second argument, ".txt," instructs the function to remove the ".txt" extension from the file name if it is present.

The output of the above PHP example is:

Advantages of the basename() function in PHP

• Simple to use: The basename() function is straightforward and simple to use. It takes a path as an argument and returns the file name as a string.
• Results that are consistent across platforms, operating systems, and file systems are produced by the basename() function.
• Security: The ability of basename() to extract the filename from a user-supplied path can be helpful for preventing directory traversal attacks.
• Flexibility: basename() can be used to extract the filename from a path, even if it includes a query string or a fragment identifier.

Disadvantages of the basename() function in PHP

• basename() does not support multibyte characters, which can be problematic for speakers of languages like Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.
• basename() only returns the filename and offers no additional details about the file, such as its size, extension, or modification date.
• When working with file paths that use backslashes rather than forward slashes, basename() can behave differently on different platforms.
• basename() is only appropriate for straightforward operations, such as obtaining the filename from a path, and is not suitable for complex operations. A more potent function or library may be required for trickier operations, like changing the file path.

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