If I have an index.php file that includes inc/footer.php I would write:
include \'inc/footer.php\';
If I want to include another file inside fo
This may help: (from http://php.net/manual/en/function.include.php)
Files for including are first looked for in each include_path entry relative to the current working directory, and then in the directory of current script. E.g. if your include_path is libraries, current working directory is /www/, you included include/a.php and there is include "b.php" in that file, b.php is first looked in /www/libraries/ and then in /www/include/. If filename begins with ./ or ../, it is looked for only in the current working directory or parent of the current working directory, respectively
Your question states:
If I want to include another file inside footer.php, I must do it relative to the index.php file (the one that is including it).
This is true only if the filepath you are trying to include()
starts with ./
or ../
. If you need to include a file above the current file using a relative path, you can (as you suggested) use:
include( dirname(__FILE__) . '/../file.php')
If you define an absolute path, you can also add this to the current include_path:
set_include_path(get_include_path() . PATH_SEPARATOR . '/absolute/path');
You can then do all your includes relative to '/absolute/path/'.
The best place to find the answer is in the PHP manual.
http://php.net/manual/en/function.include.php
Short answer: the path is relative to the executing PHP script no the sub includes.
Setting a global absolute path to your functions, classes etc folders is the best method.