When developing or debugging PHP applications, seeing all errors is crucial for identifying and resolving issues efficiently. By default, PHP may suppress certain errors or warnings, especially in production environments. However, during development, you can configure PHP to display every error, including notices, warnings, and fatal errors, using a few simple lines of code.
To enable full error reporting, add the following to your PHP script:
ini_set('display_errors', TRUE);
ini_set('display_startup_errors', TRUE);
error_reporting(E_ALL);Here’s how it works: ini_set(‘display_errors’, TRUE) ensures runtime errors are shown in the browser or console, overriding any server-level settings. Similarly, ini_set(‘display_startup_errors’, TRUE) displays errors that occur during PHP’s startup phase, such as syntax issues in configuration files. Finally, error_reporting(E_ALL) sets the error reporting level to its maximum, capturing everything from minor notices (e.g., undefined variables) to critical errors that halt execution.
Place this code at the top of your script to catch issues early. Note that while this is ideal for development, it’s best to disable error display in production (e.g., set display_errors to FALSE) and log errors instead for security. With these settings, debugging PHP becomes a breeze!