Core PHP Programming, Third Edition

28.5. Debugging Strategies

There are times when code produces unexpected results. Examining the code reveals nothing. In this case the best thing to do is some in-line debugging. PHP scripts generate HTML to be interpreted by a browser, and HTML has a comment tag. Therefore, it is a simple matter to write PHP code that reports diagnostic information inside HTML comments. This allows you to put diagnostic information into an application without affecting its operation.

Often I create database queries dynamically, based on user input. A stray character or invalid user input can cause the query to return an error. Sometimes I print the query itself. I also print the results of the error functions, such as mysql_error. The same applies to code unrelated ...