Prevent direct access to a php include file

Question

I have a php file which I will be using as exclusively as an include. Therefore I would like to throw an error instead of executing it when it\'s accessed directly by typing

Answer 1

What Joomla! does is defining a Constant in a root file and checking if the same is defined in the included files.

defined('_JEXEC') or die('Restricted access');

or else

one can keep all files outside the reach of an http request by placing them outside the webroot directory as most frameworks like CodeIgniter recommend.

or even by placing an .htaccess file within the include folder and writing rules, you can prevent direct access.