$_SERVER
$_SERVER is an array containing information such as headers, paths, and script locations. The entries in this array are created by the web server, therefore there is no guarantee that every web server will provide any of these; servers may omit some, or provide others not listed here. However, most of these variables are accounted for in the » CGI/1.1 specification, and are likely to be defined.
Note: When running PHP on the command line most of these entries will not be available or have any meaning.
In addition to the elements listed below, PHP will create additional elements with values from request headers. These entries will be named HTTP_ followed by the header name, capitalized and with underscores instead of hyphens. For example, the Accept-Language header would be available as $_SERVER[‘HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE’] .
Indices
‘ PHP_SELF ‘ The filename of the currently executing script, relative to the document root. For instance, $_SERVER[‘PHP_SELF’] in a script at the address http://example.com/foo/bar.php would be /foo/bar.php . The __FILE__ constant contains the full path and filename of the current (i.e. included) file. If PHP is running as a command-line processor this variable contains the script name. ‘argv’ Array of arguments passed to the script. When the script is run on the command line, this gives C-style access to the command line parameters. When called via the GET method, this will contain the query string. ‘argc’ Contains the number of command line parameters passed to the script (if run on the command line). ‘ GATEWAY_INTERFACE ‘ What revision of the CGI specification the server is using; e.g. ‘CGI/1.1’ . ‘ SERVER_ADDR ‘ The IP address of the server under which the current script is executing. ‘ SERVER_NAME ‘ The name of the server host under which the current script is executing. If the script is running on a virtual host, this will be the value defined for that virtual host.
Note: Under Apache 2, UseCanonicalName = On and ServerName must be set. Otherwise, this value reflects the hostname supplied by the client, which can be spoofed. It is not safe to rely on this value in security-dependent contexts.
‘ SERVER_SOFTWARE ‘ Server identification string, given in the headers when responding to requests. ‘ SERVER_PROTOCOL ‘ Name and revision of the information protocol via which the page was requested; e.g. ‘HTTP/1.0’ ; ‘ REQUEST_METHOD ‘ Which request method was used to access the page; e.g. ‘GET’ , ‘HEAD’ , ‘POST’ , ‘PUT’ .
Note:
PHP script is terminated after sending headers (it means after producing any output without output buffering) if the request method was HEAD .
‘ REQUEST_TIME ‘ The timestamp of the start of the request. ‘ REQUEST_TIME_FLOAT ‘ The timestamp of the start of the request, with microsecond precision. ‘ QUERY_STRING ‘ The query string, if any, via which the page was accessed. ‘ DOCUMENT_ROOT ‘ The document root directory under which the current script is executing, as defined in the server’s configuration file. ‘ HTTPS ‘ Set to a non-empty value if the script was queried through the HTTPS protocol. ‘ REMOTE_ADDR ‘ The IP address from which the user is viewing the current page. ‘ REMOTE_HOST ‘ The Host name from which the user is viewing the current page. The reverse dns lookup is based on the REMOTE_ADDR of the user.
Note: The web server must be configured to create this variable. For example in Apache HostnameLookups On must be set inside httpd.conf for it to exist. See also gethostbyaddr() .
‘ REMOTE_PORT ‘ The port being used on the user’s machine to communicate with the web server. ‘ REMOTE_USER ‘ The authenticated user. ‘ REDIRECT_REMOTE_USER ‘ The authenticated user if the request is internally redirected. ‘ SCRIPT_FILENAME ‘
The absolute pathname of the currently executing script.
Note:
If a script is executed with the CLI, as a relative path, such as file.php or ../file.php , $_SERVER[‘SCRIPT_FILENAME’] will contain the relative path specified by the user.
‘ SERVER_ADMIN ‘ The value given to the SERVER_ADMIN (for Apache) directive in the web server configuration file. If the script is running on a virtual host, this will be the value defined for that virtual host. ‘ SERVER_PORT ‘ The port on the server machine being used by the web server for communication. For default setups, this will be ’80’ ; using SSL, for instance, will change this to whatever your defined secure HTTP port is.
Note: Under Apache 2, UseCanonicalName = On , as well as UseCanonicalPhysicalPort = On must be set in order to get the physical (real) port, otherwise, this value can be spoofed, and it may or may not return the physical port value. It is not safe to rely on this value in security-dependent contexts.
‘ SERVER_SIGNATURE ‘ String containing the server version and virtual host name which are added to server-generated pages, if enabled. ‘ PATH_TRANSLATED ‘ Filesystem- (not document root-) based path to the current script, after the server has done any virtual-to-real mapping.
Note: Apache 2 users may use AcceptPathInfo = On inside httpd.conf to define PATH_INFO .
‘ SCRIPT_NAME ‘ Contains the current script’s path. This is useful for pages which need to point to themselves. The __FILE__ constant contains the full path and filename of the current (i.e. included) file. ‘ REQUEST_URI ‘ The URI which was given in order to access this page; for instance, ‘ /index.html ‘. ‘ PHP_AUTH_DIGEST ‘ When doing Digest HTTP authentication this variable is set to the ‘Authorization’ header sent by the client (which you should then use to make the appropriate validation). ‘ PHP_AUTH_USER ‘ When doing HTTP authentication this variable is set to the username provided by the user. ‘ PHP_AUTH_PW ‘ When doing HTTP authentication this variable is set to the password provided by the user. ‘ AUTH_TYPE ‘ When doing HTTP authentication this variable is set to the authentication type. ‘ PATH_INFO ‘ Contains any client-provided pathname information trailing the actual script filename but preceding the query string, if available. For instance, if the current script was accessed via the URI http://www.example.com/php/path_info.php/some/stuff?foo=bar , then $_SERVER[‘PATH_INFO’] would contain /some/stuff . ‘ ORIG_PATH_INFO ‘ Original version of ‘ PATH_INFO ‘ before processed by PHP.
Examples
Example #1 $_SERVER example
Get the Current Script File Name in PHP
Your script may need the current file name with the directory name in which it is currently executing. In this tutorial article, we will discuss how to get the filename of the current script inside the project.
PHP provides various ways to find out the current file name. First, we will briefly understand all the parameters & methods and then combine them to get the result.
PHP provides 9 magical constants which are used on the basis of their use. These constants are created by various extensions. All of these constants are resolved during compile time. __FILE__ is one of such a magic constant that gives you the filesystem path to the current .php file.
$_SERVER is an array that contains information about headers, paths, and script locations. The webserver creates all this information.
PHP_SELF is a variable used to get the filename of the currently executing script. It is relative to the document root. When the user runs this command in the command line, it will print the information about the script name.
This is a variable used to get the filename of the currently executing script, and the only difference is its path is absolute.
It Contains the current script’s path. This is useful for pages that need to point to themselves.
A parent file name with a file extension
Parent file relative URL with the file extension. For example, http://example.com/parentFolder/child.php would be /parentFolder/child.php .
parent file full URL with a file extension
Current file name with PHP file extension.
Current file name without PHP file extension.
Current file name without PHP file extension.
Current file name with PHP file extension.
Sample Code to Get the Current Script File Name in PHP
php echo "\$_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME']: "; echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME']; echo "\n"; echo "\$_SERVER['PHP_SELF']: "; echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF']; echo "\n"; echo "\$_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME']: "; echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME']; echo "\n"; echo "basename(__FILE__): "; echo basename(__FILE__); echo "\n"; echo "basename(__FILE__, '.php'): "; echo basename(__FILE__, '.php'); echo "\n"; echo "basename(\$_SERVER['PHP_SELF'], '.php'): "; echo basename($_SERVER['PHP_SELF'], '.php'); echo "\n"; echo "basename(\$_SERVER['PHP_SELF']): "; echo basename($_SERVER['PHP_SELF']); echo "\n"; echo "pathinfo(__FILE__, PATHINFO_FILENAME): "; echo pathinfo(__FILE__, PATHINFO_FILENAME); echo "\n"; ?> 
Shraddha is a JavaScript nerd that utilises it for everything from experimenting to assisting individuals and businesses with day-to-day operations and business growth. She is a writer, chef, and computer programmer. As a senior MEAN/MERN stack developer and project manager with more than 4 years of experience in this sector, she now handles multiple projects. She has been producing technical writing for at least a year and a half. She enjoys coming up with fresh, innovative ideas.