How to get my PHP files out of the web application directory?

I've often heard that it's good practice to keep PHP files out of the web directory as much as possible (especially those containing sensitive info), just to be double-sure they can never be served accidentally as static files, even if some accidental future change means that Apache fails to execute them as PHP when requested.

My web applications all live in one directory, so I'm not sure what the best approach is – it seems a bit messy to have a whole bunch of *_php folders in the same place as all my web application folders. Is there any recommended practice for how to get your PHP code out of the web directory on WebFaction?

directory application php

asked 26 May '12, 08:01

callum
3●2●4
accept rate: 0%

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Hi,

If you are developing the application yourself, you can have only the index.php file in the app directory, and use include() in it to include everything else from a directory below that level.

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answered 26 May '12, 08:15

todork
1.2k●5
accept rate: 34%

Hi, thanks for your answer. I know I can use require() so I can store files in the parent directory of my application, but the problem is: that parent directory is also the parent directory of all my other web applications. I can't store the application code of multiple websites in the same folder. Is there a way to make it so the web root is a folder called 'public' or similar inside my application folder, as opposed to the application folder itself?

(02 Jun '12, 15:37) callum

You can store the application code in it's own directory attached to your user $HOME/application_code for instance. That way it will be separate from your other applications.

(02 Jun '12, 15:55) aaront ♦♦

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php ×264
application ×58
directory ×19

question asked: 26 May '12, 08:01

question was seen: 4,463 times

last updated: 02 Jun '12, 15:55

How to get my PHP files out of the web application directory?

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