PHP Error Handling

When to use

• The user must release a resource (file handle, lock, transaction) whether or not an exception is thrown on PHP 8.0+.
• The user needs domain-specific exceptions that callers can catch selectively on PHP 8.0+.
• The user wants to catch a low-level exception (PDO, cURL) and rethrow it as a domain exception without losing the cause on PHP 8.0+.

When NOT to use

• Do not use this skill for ordinary control flow where a missing or absent value is an expected outcome, not a failure.
• Do not use this skill when the intent is to suppress errors with @ or an empty catch to make a symptom disappear.

Core guidance