How can external programs be effectively started and managed within a PHP script?

To effectively start and manage external programs within a PHP script, you can use functions like `exec()`, `shell_exec()`, or `proc_open()`. These functions allow you to execute external commands or programs and capture their output or manage their input/output streams. 

// Example: Using exec() to start an external program
$command = 'ls -la';
$output = exec($command);
echo $output;

Keywords

exec shell_exec system proc_open popen

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