require_once with dotted (hidden) files in php on windows not working

Question

my code works fine if I remove the leading dots on file names, but breaks otherwise.

[edit]
The file starts with a dot (period) character
[end edit]

require_once('.htMyClass.inc.php'); //fails

require_once('htMyClass.inc.php'); //works

I wanted to keep the dots for security -- the leading ht is just a hold over from apache. i don't expect that to do anything special on windows.

Answer 1

I just run a test code, and worked fine. I am using xammp in windows, it could be apache or php configuration in your machine.

<?php
require_once(".htphp.inc.php");
?>

<?php
echo "test";
?>

Answer 2

Reading this Microsoft article, "IIS Hidden Static Files Return HTTP 404 or Access Denied Errors," it could be failing on purpose. Extend that to not even being able to include the file.