What is the purpose of the include statement in PHP?

The include statement in PHP serves the specific purpose of incorporating the contents of one PHP file into another. When you use the include statement, the specified file is evaluated as part of the current script, meaning that all of its code is executed in the same execution context. This allows you to reuse code, such as functions, classes, or variables, across multiple PHP files without the need to duplicate that code.

Using include can significantly enhance code organization and maintainability by breaking it down into modular components. For example, you could have a file dedicated to database connection settings and include that file wherever database connectivity is required. If modifications are needed in the database connection logic, they can be done in one place, and all scripts that include this file will automatically receive the updated code.

The other choices do not accurately describe the functionality of the include statement:

• Running PHP scripts in a separate thread is not an ability of include, as PHP is not inherently designed for multithreading.
• Creating new variables is not a direct function of include; while it can lead to variables from the included file being available in the current script, its main purpose is not variable creation.
• Managing PHP sessions is handled through functions like session_start() and does not relate to file inclusion