How can PHP developers effectively troubleshoot and debug errors that result in a 500 error without clear error messages?

When faced with a 500 error without clear error messages, PHP developers can start by checking the server error logs for more detailed information on what caused the error. They can also enable error reporting in the PHP configuration to display errors on the page. Additionally, developers can use tools like Xdebug to step through the code and identify the specific line causing the issue.

// Enable error reporting to display errors on the page
ini_set('display_errors', 1);
ini_set('display_startup_errors', 1);
error_reporting(E_ALL);

// Check server error logs for detailed information
// Use Xdebug to step through the code and identify the issue