Recipe 20.7. Tuning Error Handling


20.7.1. Problem

You want to alter the error-logging sensitivity on a particular page. This lets you control what types of errors are reported.

20.7.2. Solution

To adjust the types of errors PHP complains about, use error_reporting( ):

error_reporting(E_ALL);                // everything error_reporting(E_ERROR | E_PARSE);    // only major problems error_reporting(E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE);    // everything but notices

20.7.3. Discussion

Every error generated has an error type associated with it. For example, if you try to array_pop( ) a string, PHP complains that "This argument needs to be an array," since you can only pop arrays. The error type associated with this message is E_NOTICE, a nonfatal runtime problem.

By default, the error reporting level is E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE, which means all error types except notices. The & is a logical AND, and the ~ is a logical NOT. However, the php.ini-recommended configuration file sets the error reporting level to E_ALL, which is all error types.

PHP 5 introduced a new error level, E_STRICT. Enabling E_STRICT during development has the benefit of PHP alerting you of ways your code could be improved. You will receive warnings about the use of deprecated functions, along with tips to nudge you in the direction of the latest and greatest suggested methods of coding. E_STRICT is the only error level not included in E_ALL; for maximum coverage during development, set the error reporting level to E_ALL | E_STRICT.

Error messages flagged as notices are runtime problems that are less serious than warnings. They're not necessarily wrong, but they indicate a potential problem. One example of an E_NOTICE is "Undefined variable," which occurs if you try to use a variable without previously assigning it a value:

// Generates an E_NOTICE foreach ($array as $value) {     $html .= $value; } // Doesn't generate any error message $html = ''; foreach ($array as $value) {     $html .= $value; }

In the first case, the first time through the foreach, $html is undefined. So when you append to it, PHP lets you know you're appending to an undefined variable. In the second case, the empty string is assigned to $html above the loop to avoid the E_NOTICE. The previous two code snippets generate identical code because the default value of a variable is the empty string. The E_NOTICE can be helpful because, for example, you may have misspelled a variable name:

foreach ($array as $value) {     $hmtl .= $value; // oops! that should be $html } $html = '' foreach ($array as $value) {     $hmtl .= $value; // oops! that should be $html }

A custom error-handling function can parse errors based on their type and take an appropriate action. A complete list of error types is shown in Table 20-2.

Table 20-2. Error types

Value

Constant

Description

Catchable

1

E_ERROR

Nonrecoverable error

No

2

E_WARNING

Recoverable error

Yes

4

E_PARSE

Parser error

No

8

E_NOTICE

Possible error

Yes

16

E_CORE_ERROR

Like E_ERROR but generated by the PHP core

No

32

E_CORE_WARNING

Like E_WARNING but generated by the PHP core

No

64

E_COMPILE_ERROR

Like E_ERROR but generated by the Zend Engine

No

128

E_COMPILE_WARNING

Like E_WARNING but generated by the Zend Engine

No

256

E_USER_ERROR

Like E_ERROR but triggered by calling trigger_error( )

Yes

512

E_USER_WARNING

Like E_WARNING but triggered by calling trigger_error( )

Yes

1024

E_USER_NOTICE

Like E_NOTICE but triggered by calling trigger_error( )

Yes

2047

E_ALL

Everything except E_STRICT

N/A

2048

E_STRICT

Runtime notices in which PHP suggests changes to improve code quality (since PHP 5)

N/A


Errors labeled catchable can be processed by the function registered using set_error_handler( ). The others indicate such a serious problem that they're not safe to be handled by users, and PHP must take care of them.

20.7.4. See Also

Recipe 20.8 shows how to set up a custom error handler; documentation on error_reporting( ) at http://www.php.net/error-reporting and set_error_handler( ) at http://www.php.net/set-error-handler; for more information about errors, see http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.errorfunc.php.




PHP Cookbook, 2nd Edition
PHP Cookbook: Solutions and Examples for PHP Programmers
ISBN: 0596101015
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 445

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