PHP ob_implicit_flush() Function

What is PHP ob_implicit_flush() Function?

If you want to send (flush) every output statement (ex. echo, print) immediately to the browser, call ob_implicit_flush() function. You can implicitly enable or disable flush with this function.

Syntax:

ob_implicit_flush($enable)

Parameters:

The function has one parameter.

$enable– it has 2 values-

  • When its value is 1 (TRUE), implicit flushing is turned on. If you don’t mention this parameter, the function turns implicit flushing on.
  •  When it is 0 (FALSE), implicit flushing is turned off.

Return Values:

The function doesn’t return any value.

Examples:

Example 1:

<?php
   ob_implicit_flush(1);
   echo str_pad("Wait 1 sec... ",4096);
   sleep(1);
   echo "Done";
?>

Output:

Wait 1 sec... Done

Explanation:

As the implicit flush is turned on in line #2, the string “Wait 1 sec… ” which is produced in line #3 goes immediately to the browser when the browser loads. Then, after waiting for 1 second (line #4), the script prints “Done” (line #5).

Example 2:

<?php
   ob_implicit_flush(0);
   echo str_pad("Wait 1 sec... ",4096);
   sleep(1);
      echo "Done";
?>

Output:

Wait 1 sec... Done

Explanation:

As the implicit flush is turned off in line #2, the string “Wait 1 sec… ” which is produced in line #3 doesn’t go immediately to the browser when the browser loads. Then, after waiting for 1 second (line #4), the script prints “Wait 1 sec… Done” (line #5) at a time.

PHP Version Support:

PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8

Summary: PHP ob_implicit_flush() Function

PHP ob_implicit_flush() function is a built-in PHP function and part of the PHP’s Output Control functions. With this function, you have control over flushing out each output operation.

Reference:

https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.ob-implicit-flush.php