# PHP parse_ini_file() Function

Complete PHP Filesystem Reference

## Definition and Usage

The parse_ini_file() function parses a configuration (ini) file and returns the settings in it in an array.

## Syntax

parse_ini_file(file,process_sections)

Parameter | Description
--- | ---
file | Required. Specifies the ini file to check
process_sections | Optional. If set to TRUE, it returns is a multidimensional array with section names and settings included. Default is FALSE

## Tips and Notes

Tip: This function can be used to read in your own application's configuration files, and has nothing to do with the php.ini file.

Note: The following reserved words must not be used as keys for ini files: null, yes, no, true, and false. Furthermore, there are also some reserved characters that must not be used in the keys: {}|&~![()".

## Example 1

Contents of "test.ini":

[names]
me = Robert
you = Peter
[urls]
first = "http://www.example.com"
second = "http://www.w3schools.com"

PHP code:

<?php
print_r(parse_ini_file("test.ini"));
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Array
(
[me] => Robert
[you] => Peter
[first] => http://www.example.com
[second] => http://www.w3schools.com
)

## Example 2

Contents of "test.ini":

[names]
me = Robert
you = Peter
[urls]
first = "http://www.example.com"
second = "http://www.w3schools.com"

PHP code (with process_sections set to true):

<?php
print_r(parse_ini_file("test.ini",true));
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Array
(
[names] => Array
(
[me] => Robert
[you] => Peter
)
[urls] => Array
(
[first] => http://www.example.com
[second] => http://www.w3schools.com
)
)

Complete PHP Filesystem Reference

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