BinData Chilkat2 PHP Reference Documentation

BinData

Current Version: 11.7.0

Markdown version of this page for AI tools (v 11.7.0) · all AI docs

Chilkat.BinData

Build, transform, encode, decode, inspect, and save binary data.

Chilkat.BinData is a general-purpose mutable byte container used throughout Chilkat for working with binary content in memory. It can load bytes from files, byte arrays, strings, and encoded text; append additional data in many forms; retrieve content as raw bytes, chunks, text, or encoded strings; compute hashes; convert character encodings; validate UTF-8; remove byte ranges; and write the final result to files.

Load binary content

Load data from files, byte arrays, strings, encoded strings, or other Chilkat objects that produce binary output.

Append and build data

Append bytes, strings, integers, BOMs, counted strings, padded fields, encoded data, and other BinData objects.

Encode and decode

Convert binary data to and from text encodings such as Base64, hex, URL encoding, and other supported binary encodings.

Text and charset handling

Interpret bytes as text, append strings using a specified charset, convert character encodings, and validate UTF-8 content.

Inspect and modify bytes

Get byte counts, extract chunks, remove ranges, compare data, and work with specific portions of a binary buffer.

Hash and save output

Compute hashes for the contained data and write the resulting bytes to files or pass them to other Chilkat classes.

Common pattern: Load or append binary data, perform any needed encoding, decoding, hashing, charset conversion, or byte-level edits, then retrieve the result as bytes, text, an encoded string, or a file. Use BinData whenever a Chilkat method needs a mutable in-memory binary buffer.

For an extended overview, see BinData Class Overview.

Object Creation

use Chilkat2\BinData;

try {
    $bd = new BinData();
    // ... use $bd ...
} catch (\Chilkat2\Exception $e) {
    echo $e->getClass(), '::', $e->getMethod(), " failed\n";
    echo $e->getMessage(), "\n";              // the LastErrorText of the failed call
}
public function __construct(array $properties = [])

Creates the object. The optional array sets properties in order, as if assigned one by one (new BinData(['VerboseLogging' => true, 'RaiseError' => false])); an unknown or read-only name throws Error. The class is defined by the chilkat2 extension (extension=chilkat2 in php.ini): there is no PHP file to include.

There is no close(): PHP frees the object when its last reference goes (unset($bd), $bd = null, or the end of the function or request). Objects returned by methods are independent and freed the same way. The class may be extended (class MyBinData extends \Chilkat2\BinData); objects cannot be cloned or serialized.

public bool $RaiseError;

When true (the default), a method that fails throws Chilkat2\Exception. When false, it returns false (or null) instead, and the reason is in LastErrorText. Objects returned by a method inherit the value of the object that returned them.

Errors

Chilkat2\Exception extends RuntimeException: getMessage() is the failed call's full LastErrorText, getClass() its class ('Chilkat2\BinData') and getMethod() the method name. The object remains usable. Methods that look something up and find nothing return null without throwing (each such method says so), methods that answer a question (HasMember, IsUnlocked, ...) return a plain bool, and property reads and writes do not throw for Chilkat reasons.

Misuse always throws, whatever RaiseError is: a wrong argument type is a TypeError (exact types under declare(strict_types=1)), a missing or extra argument an ArgumentCountError, a string containing a NUL byte or an out-of-range integer a ValueError, and an unknown property (properties are case-sensitive) or a write to a read-only one an Error. Named arguments work with the parameter names shown.

Strings are passed and returned as UTF-8; binary data is a PHP string of bytes. Unlocking: call (new \Chilkat2\GlobalSettings())->UnlockBundle('...') once at startup.

Properties

DebugLogFilePath
public string $DebugLogFilePath;

If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.

Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.

Possible causes of hangs include:

  • A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
  • A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
  • An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.

More Information and Examples
Example showing how to use DebugLogFilePath.
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LastErrorHtml
public readonly string $LastErrorHtml;

Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorText
public readonly string $LastErrorText;

Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

More Information and Examples
Concept of LastErrorTextLastErrorText Standard Information
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LastErrorXml
public readonly string $LastErrorXml;

Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastMethodSuccess
public bool $LastMethodSuccess;

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: true means success, false means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.

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NumBytes
public readonly int $NumBytes;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.51

The number of bytes contained within the object.

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VerboseLogging
public bool $VerboseLogging;

If set to true, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is false. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
public readonly string $Version;

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

More Information and Examples
How to get the Chilkat version at runtime.
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Methods

AppendBd
public function AppendBd(BinData $binData): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.62

Appends the contents of another BinData to this object.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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AppendBom
public function AppendBom(string $charset): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.62

Appends the appropriate BOM (byte order mark), also known as a preamble, for the given charset. If the $charset has no defined BOM, then nothing is appended. An application would typically call this to append the utf-8, utf-16, or utf-32 BOM.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
StringBuilder to Bytes (in BinData)
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AppendByte
public function AppendByte(int $byteValue): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Appends a single byte. The $byteValue should be a value from 0 to 255.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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AppendCountedString
public function AppendCountedString(int $numCountBytes, bool $bigEndian, string $str, string $charset): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.91

Appends a byte count followed by the string in the desired character encoding, such as utf-8. The $numCountBytes is the size in bytes of the integer to represent the byte count. If 0, then a minimal number of bytes is used. If $bigEndian is true, the byte count is appended in big endian byte ordering, otherwise little-ending byte ordering. The $str is the string to be appended. The $charset is the character encoding, such as utf-8, utf-16, windows-1252, etc.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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AppendData
public function AppendData(string $data): bool
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Appends binary data to the current contents.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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AppendEncoded
public function AppendEncoded(string $encData, string $encoding): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.51

Appends encoded binary data to the current data. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Demonstrate Binary Data Encoding MethodsDecode Base64 Image String (GIF, JPG, etc.) and Save to FileConvert any File to Base64 (and back)Decode Base64
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AppendEncodedSb
public function AppendEncodedSb(StringBuilder $sb, string $encoding): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.62

Decodes the contents of $sb and appends the decoded bytes to this object. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Extract PDF Invoice from FatturaElettronica XML
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AppendInt2
public function AppendInt2(int $value, bool $littleEndian): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Appends a 16-bit integer (2 bytes). If $littleEndian is true, then the integer bytes are appended in little-endian byte order, otherwise big-endian byte order is used.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Append Big-Endian or Little-Endian Integers
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AppendInt4
public function AppendInt4(int $value, bool $littleEndian): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Appends a 32-bit integer (4 bytes). If $littleEndian is true, then the integer bytes are appended in little-endian byte order, otherwise big-endian byte order is used.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Append Big-Endian or Little-Endian Integers
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AppendPadded
public function AppendPadded(string $str, string $charset, bool $padWithSpace, int $fieldLen): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.80

Appends a string to this object, padded to the $fieldLen with NULL or SPACE chars. If $padWithSpace is true, then SPACE chars are used and the string is not null-terminated. If $fieldLen is false, then null bytes are used. The $charset controls the byte representation to use, such as utf-8.

Note: This call will always append a total number of bytes equal to $fieldLen. If the $str is longer than $fieldLen, the method returns false to indicate failure and nothing is appended.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Duplicate PHP's openssl_encrypt and openssl_random_pseudo_bytes
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AppendSb
public function AppendSb(StringBuilder $sb, string $charset): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.62

Appends the contents of a StringBuilder to this object.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
StringBuilder to Bytes (in BinData)
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AppendString
public function AppendString(string $str, string $charset): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.62

Appends a string to this object. (This does not append the BOM. If a BOM is required, the AppendBom method can be called to append the appropriate BOM.)

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Appending Strings to BinData
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ByteSwap
public function ByteSwap(int $size): void
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Does either 16-bit or 32-bit byte swapping of the entire contents. If $size equals 16, then swaps in 2 bytes (e.g., 0x1234 → 0x3412). If $size equals 32, then swaps 4 bytes (e.g., 0x12345678 → 0x78563412)

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CharsetConvert
public function CharsetConvert(string $fromCharset, string $toCharset, bool $allOrNone): bool
Introduced in version 11.0.0

This method converts the character encoding of an object's contents from one format to another, such as from Windows-1252 to UTF-8. The $allOrNone parameter determines error handling for unrepresentable bytes. If $allOrNone is true, the object's contents remain unchanged when errors occur. If false, error bytes are discarded. The method returns true if successful and false if errors occur.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Convert utf-8 Text File to Windows-1252
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Clear
public function Clear(): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.51

Clears the contents.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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ContentsEqual
public function ContentsEqual(BinData $binData): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.62

Return true if the contents of this object equals the contents of $binData.

Never throws: false is an answer, not a failure.

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FindString
public function FindString(string $str, int $startIdx, string $charset): int
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

Return the index where the first occurrence of $str is found. Return -1 if not found. The $startIdx indicates the byte index where the search begins. The $charset specifies the byte representation of $str that is to be searched. For example, it can be utf-8, windows-1252, ansi, utf-16, etc.

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GetByte
public function GetByte(int $index): int
Introduced in version 9.5.0.92

Returns the value of the byte at the given $index. The returned value is an integer from 0 to 255.

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GetData
public function GetData(): string
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Retrieves the binary data contained within the object.

Returns the bytes as a PHP string (empty if there is no data).

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GetDataChunk
public function GetDataChunk(int $offset, int $numBytes): string
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Retrieves a chunk of the binary data contained within the object.

Returns the bytes as a PHP string (empty if there is no data).

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GetEncoded
public function GetEncoded(string $encoding): ?string
Introduced in version 9.5.0.51

Retrieves the binary data as an encoded string. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.

On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns null). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Demonstrate Binary Data Encoding MethodsDetermine File Type from Binary Content of FileGet Contents of File as Base64Base62 Encoding and Decoding
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GetEncodedChunk
public function GetEncodedChunk(int $offset, int $numBytes, string $encoding): ?string
Introduced in version 9.5.0.51

Retrieves a chunk of the binary data and returns it in encoded form. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.

On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns null). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Demonstrate Binary Data Encoding Methods
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GetEncodedSb
public function GetEncodedSb(string $encoding, StringBuilder $sb): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.64

Writes the encoded data to a StringBuilder. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Append Encoded Binary Data to StringBuilderDemonstrate Binary Data Encoding Methods
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GetHash
public function GetHash(string $algorithm, string $encoding): ?string
Introduced in version 9.5.0.91

Returns the hash of the contents of this object. The $algorithm is the hash algorithm, and can be sha1, sha256, sha384, sha512, sha3-224, sha3-256, sha3-384, sha3-512, md2, md5, ripemd128, ripemd160,ripemd256, or ripemd320. The $encoding can be base64, modBase64, base64Url, base32, base58, qp (for quoted-printable), url (for url-encoding), hex, hexLower, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.

On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns null). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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GetInt2
public function GetInt2(int $index, bool $littleEndian): int
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Returns the value of the 16-bit signed integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.

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GetInt4
public function GetInt4(int $index, bool $littleEndian): int
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Returns the value of the 32-bit signed integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.

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GetString
public function GetString(string $charset): ?string
Introduced in version 9.5.0.67

Interprets the bytes according to $charset and returns the string. The $charset can be utf-8, utf-16, ansi, iso-8859-*, windows-125*, or any of the supported character encodings listed in the link below.

On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns null). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Chilkat Supported Character Encodings
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GetTextChunk
public function GetTextChunk(int $startIdx, int $numBytes, string $charset): ?string
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

Returns $numBytes bytes starting at $startIdx. The bytes are interpreted according to $charset (for example, utf-8, ansi, utf-16, windows-1252, etc.)

On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns null). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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GetUInt2
public function GetUInt2(int $index, bool $littleEndian): int
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Returns the value of the 16-bit unsigned integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.

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GetUInt4
public function GetUInt4(int $index, bool $littleEndian): int
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Returns the value of the 32-bit unsigned integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.

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IsValidUtf8
public function IsValidUtf8(): bool
Introduced in version 10.1.0

Returns true if this object contains valid utf-8 byte sequences. Any invalid byte sequence that is not valid utf-8 will cause this function to return false.

Never throws: false is an answer, not a failure.

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LoadEncoded
public function LoadEncoded(string $encData, string $encoding): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.51

Loads binary data from an encoded string, replacing the current contents, if any. The $encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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LoadFile
public function LoadFile(string $path): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.51

Loads data from a file.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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RemoveByteVal
public function RemoveByteVal(int $value): void
Introduced in version 9.5.0.90

Removes bytes having a specified value (0-255). For example, to remove all null bytes, pass 0 in $value.

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RemoveChunk
public function RemoveChunk(int $offset, int $numBytes): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.51

Removes a chunk of bytes from the binary data.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

More Information and Examples
Demonstrate Binary Data Encoding Methods
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SecureClear
public function SecureClear(): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.67

Securely clears the contents by writing 0 bytes to the memory prior to deallocating the internal memory.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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WriteAppendFile
public function WriteAppendFile(string $path): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.91

Appends the contents of this object to a file.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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WriteFile
public function WriteFile(string $path): bool
Introduced in version 9.5.0.62

Writes the contents to a file.

Returns true on success. On failure it throws Chilkat2\Exception (or, with RaiseError set to false, returns false). $e->getMessage() (or the object's LastErrorText) explains why, and the object remains usable.

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