How can PHP beginners effectively utilize the is_dir function for directory existence checks?

When using the is_dir function in PHP to check for the existence of a directory, beginners should ensure they provide the correct path to the directory as an argument to the function. It is important to handle any errors that may occur, such as invalid paths or permissions issues, to prevent the script from breaking.

$directory = "/path/to/directory";

if (is_dir($directory)) {
    echo "Directory exists.";
} else {
    echo "Directory does not exist.";
}