file_get_contents timeout

[quenting]

Is there anyway I can set up my own timeout parameter when calling the file_get_contents method ?

[shenkong]

function abc($filename, $time = 3600) {
    set_time_limit($time);
    return file_get_contents($filename);
}
abc("a.txt"); 

[quenting]

Mmmm, i thought set_time_limit was to define the script execution time.
Can you use it to set a function execution time ? Also, I use set_time_limit to define how long my overall script can run, doesn't using it in a function overwrite the value i set for my script ?

more or less my question is whether set_time_limit affects a value with a scope of the script or with the scope of the block it runs in.
Thanks anyway for your input.