[SOLVED] Using chmod in PHP using wildcards doesn't work

Issue

It seems

chmod("*.txt", 0660);

doesn't work.

I know I can:

1. chmod the files one by one: it works but I do not know all the names in advance, so I cannot use it.
2. Use exec. It works but I don't like it for several reasons (speed, security, and so on).
3. Use scandir. It works but again, slow and I guess too much for a simple operation

I really want to use chmod directly. Is it even possible? Thank you.

Solution

So you can do this using scandir like you mentioned and yes filesystem can be pretty slow, you can add a check in so you do not do it to files you have already processed

<?php

$files = scandir('./');
foreach ($files as $file) {
    // check here so you don't have to do every file again
    if (substr(sprintf('%o', fileperms($file)), -4) === "0660") {
        echo "skipping " . $file; 
        continue;
    }

    $extension = pathinfo($file)['extension'];
    if ($extension === 'txt') {
        chmod($file, 0660);
    }
}

Or you could use glob

<?php

$files = glob('./*.{txt}', GLOB_BRACE);
foreach($files as $file) {
    // check here so you don't have to do every file again
    if (substr(sprintf('%o', fileperms($file)), -4) === "0660") {
        echo "skipping " . $file; 
        continue;
    }

    $extension = pathinfo($file)['extension'];
    if ($extension === 'txt') {
        chmod($file, 0660);
    }
}

Answered By - Chris Townsend

Answer Checked By - Terry (WPSolving Volunteer)