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Saving time on a web design project is going to do two things. First, it is going to make for a happier client since the job is completed faster. Second, the web designer saves time and maximizes their earnings per hour as a result. One of these time-saving measures we use is the include construct.

The include construct in PHP is actually a lot like a function, but we call it a language construct simply because we view it as a piece of the PHP language. The include construct in particular is going to enable a web developer to include a remote file into the currently running application. It may seem unexciting, but this is a very big time saver.

The number one reason to use a PHP include is to save time. As it is said, time is money, and saving time can give way to more work- which means more money. Time is saved with the PHP include since we can use includes to dynamically change multiple pages at once. By referencing a single remote file on each page, we can update every page through one file.

Many use the PHP include simply to get better organization- as if commenting one’s code wasn’t enough. PHP includes allow one to cut down many lines of code, but the application won’t be any faster as a result. The contents of the remote file are still being read into the current application upon execution. Just because the code isn’t there doesn’t mean it isn’t processed.

Another good function of the PHP include is to keep things in working order. If an include fails, we are going to get a visible error message. Now this isn’t always a good thing, since some error messages will expose confidential information about the running script. In more precise situations, we would use the require construct to halt the entire script should it not complete correctly.

Because PHP will only function under the PHP extension, web developers should get into the practice of forgetting the HTML extension and switching to PHP. If they don’t, the time will come when they see that PHP is the better alternative, and fixing the extension on hundreds of pages isn’t going to be much fun at that point in time.

Closing Comments

Web developers all around the world are getting in on the PHP statement that is saving time for repetitive tasks. To accurately use the command, be sure to brush up on the include statement by reading manuals and documents relating to the include statement. If necessary, look for a few include tutorials to make sure the basics are covered.