The php Function File_Exists
The php function file_exists is used to check for the existence of files and directories. It accepts a single parameter which is the path of the file or directory to be checked. It returns TRUE if the file or directory exists and FALSE otherwise.
A lot of times you need to verify that a certain file exists before doing any work on it. This could be in case of PIM software tools where users upload images which need to be renamed or replaced with other existing ones. In these scenarios, checking if the files exist and are accessible before attempting to access them can save time and effort.
This php function is simple and user-friendly, accepting a single path as its only parameter. The return value is a boolean and it is quite straightforward. You can also use it in conjunction with other php functions such as is_file(), is_dir(), and is_readable() to build more complex logic.
It is important to note that the results of this php function are cached, and if you run it again with the same path, it will return the same result. It is therefore advisable to use clearstatcache() function to clear the cache.
It is also worth mentioning that the file_exists function only checks if a specific path is a valid file. It does not check for symlinks and will return FALSE if the file is located on a network share (use is_dir() for that). It also does not work with url wrappers.