PHP flock() Function

Definition

The flock() function locks or releases a file.

Syntax

PHP flock() Function has the following syntax.

Parameter

When you lock a file, we can two options.

• A read-only lock, thereby sharing access to the file with other processes,
• An exclusive lock, allowing you to make changes to the file.

Possible values for lock:

• LOCK_SH - Shared lock (reader).
• LOCK_EX - Exclusive lock (writer). Prevent other processes from accessing the file
• LOCK_UN - Release a shared or exclusive lock
• LOCK_NB - Avoids blocking other processes while locking

The flock() function takes a file handle as its first parameter and a lock operation as its second parameter.

Return

PHP flock() Function returns TRUE on success or FALSE on failure.

Example 1

flock() could be used like this:

<?PHP//  w w  w.  j  ava2 s.  c o m
      $fp = fopen( $filename,"w"); // open it for WRITING ("w")
      if (flock($fp, LOCK_EX)) {
             // do your file writes here
             flock($fp, LOCK_UN); // unlock the file
      } else {
             // flock() returned false, no lock obtained
             print "Could not lock $filename!\n";
      }
?>

Example 2

Lock a file and write a string to it

<?php//w ww.j av a2s  .c  om

$file = fopen("test.txt","w+");

// exclusive lock
if (flock($file,LOCK_EX)){
  fwrite($file,"java2s.com");
  // release lock
  flock($file,LOCK_UN);
}else{
  echo "Error locking file!";
}

fclose($file);
?>