Should require_once “some file.php” ; appear anywhere but the top of the file?

Question

Is the following example appropriate for PHP\'s require_once construct?

function foo( $param )
{
    require_once \"my_file.php\" ;
    //
    // do somethin         


        

Answer 1

When using require_once keep in mind that this is not some pre-processor directive. The require_once statements are executed when PHP runs the code and it only executes if the specific script has not already been included during the execution.

For example:

conf.php:

myscript.php

 $maxAge) 
    return "1"; 
  else 
    return "0";
}

 echo foo(30); // Echos 1
 echo foo(30); // Echos 0
?>

The require_once is not executed on the second call to foo(..) since conf.php has already been included once.