PHP Phreakout: Troubleshooting Tips for PHP Code ![[Registration never required for free content]](/images/free.gif)
By: Steven Seiller on Monday, February 18, 2008
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I call it the "White Screen of Oblivion." You've seen it. You just finished your new code and you eagerly upload it to the server to watch the magic you just conjured. You load the script and wait. And Wait. That white, blank screen opens like a void and sucks your confidence while the concept quickly sinks in that you have a problem. Ok, but what problem? Not even an error message?
With experiences like that, we can actually be happy when we do receive an error message. Even one which says fatal. At least an error message gives us a line number and some kind of a clue!
So what happens when your PHP code doesn't work as expected? What do those messages mean? Sometimes confusing, sometimes cryptic, those little blurbs declaring that you goofed can actually be helpful! In this article, I will describe the process and some tricks I use to troubleshoot my PHP code during initial development.
