Question

I have a simple PHP app and also a class which contains some config settings like DB conn string and some paths. Where would I best place the include_once('config/config.php'); code?

Thanks

Answer 1

There is a PHP setting called auto_prepend_file which you can make use of. Set it to a file that is the bootstrap of your scripts:

bootstrap.php

<?php
/* 
 * bootstrap
 *
 * this file will be always loaded first.
 */

include(__DIR__.'/config/config.php');

You can then later on include everything your application needs to work.

If you don’t want to use that ini setting, you can as well in all your scripts just include the bootstrap.php file at the very top:

user/profile.php

<?php
/*
 * show profile of a user
 */
require(__DIR__.'/../bootstrap.php'); # bootstrap

It’s generally a good idea to have a central point at the very start in your application, this is commonly called bootstrap.