title: define my own BASE_PATH vs. set_include_path?
body: <p>I learned of the function set_include_path().  All this time, I defined a constant in the config.php file</p>
  
  <pre><code>define('BASE_PATH', '/var/www/mywebsite/public_html/');
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>And in all subsequent php files, I would include like so</p>
  
  <pre><code>include(BASE_PATH.'header.php');
  include(BASE_PATH.'class/cls.data_access_object.php');
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Is there any advantage with the constant approach vs. the set_include_path approach and vice versa?  Is the constant approach obsolete?</p>