Trouble navigating directory structure

[JasonDFR]

// What I want does NOT work:
file_get_contents('/home/user/subdomains/test2/application../data/logs/log.log');
// In reality /home/user/subdomains/test2/application gets replaced with APPLICATION_PATH

// The absolute path to what I want does work:
file_get_contents('/home/user/subdomains/test2/data/logs/log.log'); 

My application path is defined, so I'd like to navigate up to the parent directory and then into data/logs/ etc. /application and /data are in the same directory. In this case /home/user/subdomains/test2

[CrazyChop]

If the php file you are invoking is inside the application/ directory just "../data/logs.log" will do.

[JasonDFR]

/home/user/subdomains/test2/application../../data/logs/log.log

OR

APPLICATION_PATH . "../../data/logs/log.log" 

OR

APPLICATION_PATH . "../../$config->logfile" 

is what ended up working. I always get confused when trying to write these out. Does anyone have any tricks for making it easier to figure out?

Since /application and /data are on the same level my instinct was to use "../" to leave /application and then go directly into /data. I'm not sure why I am having to use "../../"

Please advise.

[CrazyChop]

Edit: misread your questions so I removed a large chunk of text

Just curious. Does this work?

/home/user/subdomains/test2/application/../data/logs/log.log 

[JasonDFR]

$f = file_get_contents('/home/user/subdomains/test2/application/../data/logs/log.log');
echo $f; 

Yes, this works. So what is the trick?

I guess initally I was forgetting the / slash after application..

[CrazyChop]

$f = file_get_contents('/home/user/subdomains/test2/application/../data/logs/log.log');
echo $f; 

Yes, this works. So what is the trick?

I guess initally I was forgetting the / slash after application..

Yes. I think so. Originally, your filepath is not valid. A directory should always end with a / so the original /home/user/test2/application../data...." didn't work because the application part must end with a / for it to be a valid file-path.

So the filepath has a syntax error, so to say