Should You Use exit(); or die(); After a PHP Redirect?

Handling PHP Redirections with exit(); or die();

Your concern regarding the use of exit(); or die(); after header("Location: ") is valid. These functions can be beneficial in ensuring that your script terminates immediately after the redirect, preventing unexpected behavior.

Why Use exit(); or die();

If you do not terminate your script with exit(); or die(); after issuing a header("Location: "), the script may continue executing, potentially leading to:

• Disclosure of sensitive information that you intended to restrict with the redirect
• Unexpected content being displayed

Best Practice

It is advisable to add either exit(); or die(); immediately after any header("Location: ") statement to enforce script termination and prevent these issues. You can do this for all your login.php/register.php files that use redirects.

Impact on AJAX

Using exit(); or die(); after header("Location: ") should not affect AJAX or jQuery operations since they are event-driven and are not dependent on the continuation of the script.

Usage Recommendations

In addition to using exit(); or die(); after header("Location: "), it is also recommended to use these functions:

• After queries, cookie manipulation, or other operations that modify the state of your application
• When you want to terminate the script immediately due to an error or exception

Difference Between exit(); and die();

In PHP, there is a subtle difference between exit(); and die().

• exit(); sends an exit header and closes the connection
• die(); only sends a Connection: close header, without an exit header, and may not close the connection in all cases

Which function to use depends on your specific performance requirements and whether or not you want to keep the connection open or close it.

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