Question

Is there any elegant way to check if a file was included by using include/include_once/require/require_once or if the page was actually loaded directly? I’m trying to set up a testing file inside class files while I’m creating them.

I’m looking for something similar to Python’s if __name__ == "__main__": technique. Without setting globals or constants.

Answer 1

Quoted from: How to know if php script is called via require_once()?

I was looking for a way to determine if a file have been included or called directly, all from within the file. At some point in my quest I passed through this thread. Checking various other threads on this and other sites and pages from the PHP manual I got enlightened and came up with this piece of code:

if (basename(__FILE__) == basename($_SERVER["SCRIPT_FILENAME"])) {
  echo "called directly";
} else {
  echo "included/required";
}

In essence it compares if the name of the current file (the one that
could be included) is the same as the file that is beeing executed.

Credit: @Interwebs Cowboy