Equivalent of running $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] when running php in terminal

Question

Hey all,

I was wondering if there is some variable that will return what $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] returns when I call PHP like this: ./somescript

If not, how do people get around this case? I'm looking to be able to call the same script (a template compiler) in both the web browser and the terminal.

Thanks! Matt Mueller

Answer 1

hardcode document root in it.
hardcode is always a solution

Answer 2

I think you should use getcwd function to obtain current directory (or just dirname(__FILE__) if your script is the top one). Then you only need to be sure to run the script from your DOCUMENT_ROOT. Something like this:

cd /var/www/
php ./scripts/top.php

Answer 3

I don't recommend the getcwd() command for this because you cannot be sure of where cwd is pointing unless you've made a chdir before (which mean you already know which directory you're in). Working directory can be define in php config and vary between apache and CLI, and some php frameworks changes it on startup.

Use dirname(__FILE__) it always works wether you're in a apache or cli context (plus it works on windows and unix), and if you need to move inside your project files you can just use relative paths.