PHP http://

The http:// and https:// wrappers in PHP enable read-only access to resources and files through the HTTP protocol. When handling virtual name-based hosts, the host: header is sent along with user_agent (if configured in php.ini).

The HTTP header information is stored in the $http_response_header variable. These headers help identify the URL of the resource where the document originates from using the from: header. HTTPS is supported only if the openssl extension is enabled in php.ini settings.

Syntax

The HTTP/HTTPS wrapper can be used in different formats −

http://localhost
http://example.com
http://localhost?name='Ram'&age=20
https://example.com
http://username:password@abc.com

Key Features

HTTP and HTTPS wrappers have the following characteristics −

• Read-only access − Cannot write or copy files
• Metadata support − Access to headers and connection info
• SSL/TLS support − HTTPS requires openssl extension
• Authentication support − Basic HTTP authentication

Example

The following example demonstrates reading header metadata from an HTTPS URL −

<?php
$url = 'https://www.tutorialspoint.com/php7/php7_closure_call.htm';
if (!$fp = fopen($url, 'r')) {
    trigger_error("Unable to open URL ($url)", E_USER_ERROR);
}
$meta = stream_get_meta_data($fp);
print_r($meta);
fclose($fp);
?>

The output shows detailed metadata including SSL information and HTTP headers −

Array(
    [crypto] => Array(
        [protocol] => TLSv1.2
        [cipher_name] => ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
        [cipher_bits] => 128
        [cipher_version] => TLSv1/SSLv3
    )
    [timed_out] =>
    [blocked] => 1
    [eof] =>
    [wrapper_data] => Array(
        [0] => HTTP/1.0 200 OK
        [1] => Age: 1310067
        [2] => Cache-Control: max-age=2592000
        [3] => Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
        [4] => Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2020 17:15:36 GMT
        [5] => Server: ECS (nag/99AA)
        [6] => Content-Length: 24102
        [7] => Connection: close
    )
    [wrapper_type] => http
    [stream_type] => tcp_socket/ssl
    [mode] => r
    [uri] => https://www.tutorialspoint.com/php7/php7_closure_call.htm
)

Conclusion

PHP's HTTP/HTTPS wrappers provide a simple way to read remote content and access metadata. They're ideal for consuming web APIs, downloading files, or checking HTTP headers programmatically.