How can PHP developers effectively debug and troubleshoot file upload functions that involve special characters?

When dealing with file uploads that involve special characters, PHP developers can effectively debug and troubleshoot by ensuring proper encoding and decoding of file names. This can be achieved by using functions like urlencode() and urldecode() to handle special characters in file names.

// Encode file name before uploading
$encodedFileName = urlencode($_FILES['file']['name']);
move_uploaded_file($_FILES['file']['tmp_name'], 'uploads/' . $encodedFileName);

// Decode file name when accessing the file
$decodedFileName = urldecode($encodedFileName);
echo '<a href="uploads/' . $decodedFileName . '">Download File</a>';