virtual() is an Apache-specific function which is equivalent to <!--#include virtual...--> in mod_include. It performs an Apache sub-request. It is useful for including CGI scripts or .shtml files, or anything else that you would parse through Apache. Note that for a CGI script, the script must generate valid CGI headers. At the minimum that means it must generate a Content-type header.
To run the sub-request, all buffers are terminated and flushed to the browser, pending headers are sent too.
| Warning |
This function works only when PHP is compiled as an Apache module, since it uses the Apache API for doing sub requests. Query string can be passed to the included file but $_GET is copied from the parent script and only $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] is filled with the passed query string. The query string may only be passed when using Apache 2. The requested file will not be listed in the Apache access log. |
As of PHP 4.0.6, you can use virtual() on PHP files. However, it is typically better to use include() or require() if you need to include another PHP file.
Note: As of PHP 4.3.3 you can use this function with the NSAPI server module in Netscape/iPlanet/SunONE webservers, too.