If there are no PHP files in the web root then what does your web site do? Every block of PHP code must begin with '<?php', regardless of where it's located, o

If there are no PHP files in the web root then what does your web site do? Every block of PHP code must begin with '<?php', regardless of where it's located, or whether it's included from another file. I do agree with you that this is a silly behaviour. But it's nothing to do with the web root.