How do I get PHP errors to display?

📝 Tech Blog: The Simple Solution to Display PHP Errors

Hey there, tech enthusiasts! 👋 Are you struggling to see PHP errors in your browser output? 🤔 Don't worry, I've got your back! In this blog post, I'm going to walk you through the process of getting those pesky PHP errors to display. Let's dive in! 💻

So, you've already checked your php.ini file and made sure that display_errors is set to On and error_reporting is set to E_ALL. ✔️ You've even restarted your Apache webserver for good measure. 🔄

You might feel frustrated because you've put in the effort to add the following lines of code at the top of your PHP script, expecting them to catch any errors and display them nicely in your browser output. But unfortunately, you're met with a frustrating blank page instead. 😥

error_reporting(E_ALL);
ini_set('display_errors', 1);

You're probably wondering, what now? 🤷‍♂️ Well, fear not, because there's one more step you might have overlooked. Let me shed some light on it! 💡

Have you considered enabling error logging? 📜 By default, PHP logs errors to a file instead of displaying them in your browser. This file is known as the "error log." So, to see those errors in your browser, we need to make a small tweak. Here's what you need to do: 🛠️

1. Open your php.ini file again. Look for the following line: log_errors = Off.

2. Change Off to On. So, it should now be log_errors = On.

3. Next, find the line that specifies the location of the error log file: error_log =.

4. Make sure there is a valid path specified after the = sign. If there isn't, add a path to the file where you want the PHP errors to be logged. For example, you could use error_log = /var/log/php_errors.log.

5. Save the changes and restart your Apache webserver.

Voila! 🎉 You've done it! With error logging enabled and a valid path specified, PHP errors will now be logged to your chosen file, allowing you to easily view them in your browser.

But, hey, what if you don't want to keep checking the log file every time you want to spot an error? Don't worry, I've got a little bonus tip for you! 😉 You can use the ini_set() function to temporarily override the display_errors setting within your PHP script, like this:

ini_set('display_errors', 1);

Simply add this line to the top of your script, just below the existing ini_set() lines we mentioned earlier. This will ensure that errors are displayed directly in your browser when you need them. Remember to remove or comment out this line before deploying your script to production, as it's not recommended to display errors in a live environment.

That's it, folks! Now you know how to get those PHP errors to finally show up in your browser output. 🙌

If you found this blog post helpful, don't forget to share it with your fellow developers who might be facing the same issue. And if you have any other burning tech questions or want us to cover a specific topic, feel free to reach out! We love engaging with our readers. 💬

Happy coding! 💻🚀