Misc. Functions
PHP Manual

highlight_file

Syntax highlighting of a file

Description

stringbool highlight_file(string $filename, bool $return = false)

Prints out or returns a syntax highlighted version of the code contained in filename using the colors defined in the built-in syntax highlighter for PHP.

Many servers are configured to automatically highlight files with a phps extension. For example, example.phps when viewed will show the syntax highlighted source of the file. To enable this, add this line to the httpd.conf: 

AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps

Parameters

filename

Path to the PHP file to be highlighted.

return

Set this parameter to true to make this function return the highlighted code.

Return Values

If return is set to true, returns the highlighted code as a string instead of printing it out. Otherwise, it will return true on success, false on failure.

Changelog

Version Description
8.3.0 The resulting HTML has changed.

Notes

Caution

Care should be taken when using the highlight_file function to make sure that you do not inadvertently reveal sensitive information such as passwords or any other type of information that might create a potential security risk.

Note:

When the return parameter is used, this function uses internal output buffering so it cannot be used inside an ob_start callback function.

See Also