Is it common for PHP functions like fopen() to provide limited information about errors?

Yes, it is common for PHP functions like fopen() to provide limited information about errors by returning a false value without specifying the exact reason for the failure. To get more detailed error information, you can use the error handling functions provided by PHP, such as error_get_last() or error_reporting(). These functions can help you retrieve the error message or code associated with the failed function call.

$handle = fopen("example.txt", "r");

if (!$handle) {
    $error = error_get_last();
    echo "Error opening file: " . $error['message'];
}