How Can I Get More Useful Error Messages in My PHP Code?

Getting Useful Error Messages in PHP

Often, PHP scripts fail silently, leaving developers with only a blank screen and no clues as to what went wrong. This article explores methods to obtain comprehensive error messages, making it easier to troubleshoot issues.

Enabling Error Display

By default, PHP disables error display for security reasons. To enable error logging, follow these steps:

1. Check Error Log: Enable error logging by setting log_errors to On in the php.ini file. The error log will contain all errors unless logging is disabled.
2. Set Display Errors: Use the following PHP code at the beginning of your script to display errors:

error_reporting(E_ALL);
ini_set('display_errors', 'On');

For live servers, set display_errors to Off while keeping error_reporting set to E_ALL for logging purposes.

3. Enable .htaccess: If you cannot modify php.ini, add the following lines to an .htaccess file (although support is limited nowadays):

php_flag display_errors on
php_value error_reporting -1

Using Error Checking Editors

Alternatively, use code editors like PhpEd, VSCode, or PHPStorm that perform error checking as you type. These editors provide advanced debugging capabilities for deeper error analysis.

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