<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <HTML ><HEAD ><TITLE >Internal (built-in) functions</TITLE ><META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"><LINK REL="HOME" TITLE="Manual PHP" HREF="index.html"><LINK REL="UP" TITLE="Functions" HREF="language.functions.html"><LINK REL="PREVIOUS" TITLE="Variable functions" HREF="functions.variable-functions.html"><LINK REL="NEXT" TITLE="Classes and Objects (PHP 4)" HREF="language.oop.html"><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-2"></HEAD ><BODY CLASS="sect1" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#840084" ALINK="#0000FF" ><DIV CLASS="NAVHEADER" ><TABLE SUMMARY="Header navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TH COLSPAN="3" ALIGN="center" >Manual PHP</TH ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="functions.variable-functions.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Înapoi</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="80%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" >Cap. 12. Functions</TD ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="language.oop.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Înainte</A ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"></DIV ><DIV CLASS="sect1" ><H1 CLASS="sect1" ><A NAME="functions.internal" >Internal (built-in) functions</A ></H1 ><P > PHP comes standard with many functions and constructs. There are also functions that require specific PHP extensions compiled in otherwise you'll get fatal "undefined function" errors. For example, to use <A HREF="ref.image.html" >image</A > functions such as <A HREF="function.imagecreatetruecolor.html" ><B CLASS="function" >imagecreatetruecolor()</B ></A >, you'll need your PHP compiled with <SPAN CLASS="productname" >GD</SPAN > support. Or, to use <A HREF="function.mysql-connect.html" ><B CLASS="function" >mysql_connect()</B ></A > you'll need your PHP compiled in with <A HREF="ref.mysql.html" >MySQL</A > support. There are many core functions that are included in every version of PHP like the <A HREF="ref.strings.html" >string</A > and <A HREF="missing-stuff.html#ref.var" >variable</A > functions. A call to <A HREF="function.phpinfo.html" ><B CLASS="function" >phpinfo()</B ></A > or <A HREF="function.get-loaded-extensions.html" ><B CLASS="function" >get_loaded_extensions()</B ></A > will show you which extensions are loaded into your PHP. Also note that many extensions are enabled by default and that the PHP manual is split up by extension. See the <A HREF="configuration.html" >configuration</A >, <A HREF="installation.html" >installation</A >, and individual extension chapters, for information on how to setup your PHP. </P ><P > Reading and understanding a function's prototype is explained within the manual section titled <A HREF="about.prototypes.html" >how to read a function definition</A >. It's important to realize what a function returns or if a function works directly on a passed in value. For example, <A HREF="function.str-replace.html" ><B CLASS="function" >str_replace()</B ></A > will return the modified string while <A HREF="function.usort.html" ><B CLASS="function" >usort()</B ></A > works on the actual passed in variable itself. Each manual page also has specific information for each function like information on function parameters, behavior changes, return values for both success and failure, and availability information. Knowing these important (yet often subtle) differences is crucial for writing correct PHP code. </P ><P > See also <A HREF="function.function-exists.html" ><B CLASS="function" >function_exists()</B ></A >, <A HREF="funcref.html" >the function reference</A >, <A HREF="function.get-extension-funcs.html" ><B CLASS="function" >get_extension_funcs()</B ></A >, and <A HREF="function.dl.html" ><B CLASS="function" >dl()</B ></A >. </P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="NAVFOOTER" ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"><TABLE SUMMARY="Footer navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="functions.variable-functions.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Înapoi</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="index.html" ACCESSKEY="H" >Acasã</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="language.oop.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Înainte</A ></TD ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" >Variable functions</TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="language.functions.html" ACCESSKEY="U" >Sus</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" >Classes and Objects (PHP 4)</TD ></TR ></TABLE ></DIV ></BODY ></HTML >