Feel free to copy the code and use it in your own projects.įirstly, I've saved the following data in a text file and saved it as flat-file-data.txt. I'll then list the exact code used and show you how it works.

The main file is a mix of PHP and HTML and should be saved with the extension '.php' so it will be parsed. The demo only needs two files, plus there's nothing to set up on the server, unlike MySQL.

Here is a basic demo showing a simple way to display the contents of a flat file database. The only limit is your imagination and your coding skills. Of course flat files won't match the built-in flexibility of something like MySQL, but you are free to program with them in any way you see fit. They are easy to manage because you can read them in any standard text editor, the files can be quite small and backing them up isn't a problem. Everything I still do now runs off flat files. I never learnt how to use it, instead learning enough basic PHP to code my own database from scratch. The reason was that at work, we weren't allowed to use MySQL, the standard tool for web-based databases. I was only too happy to help out, having used this technique over and over both at home and at work. A 'flat file' is just another name for a plain text file. I received a query asking how to use PHP to read from a flat file database and output it as HTML. How to read from a flat file database using PHP.

Php flat file database