initial.php

<?php
    // start the session
    session_start();

    // display errors (when needed)
    // error_reporting(E_ALL);
    // ini_set('display_errors', 1);

    // define path constants
    define("PUBLIC_HTML_PATH", dirname(__FILE__));
    define("PHP_PATH", PUBLIC_HTML_PATH . "/NursingClinical/Controller");
    define("LAYOUTS_PATH", PHP_PATH . "/layouts");

    // define cookie keys
    define("SUBMITTED_SURVEY_KEY", "submitted-survey");

    // provide DB credentials and connect/disconnect functions
    $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] = str_replace('/public_html', '', $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']);
    require_once($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . '/db-connect-nursing.php');

    // include all PHP helper functions
    require_once(PHP_PATH . "/helpers.php");
?>