What are best practices for handling output in PHP scripts for different execution contexts like cron jobs and regular browser requests?
When handling output in PHP scripts for different execution contexts like cron jobs and regular browser requests, it is important to differentiate between the two and adjust the output accordingly. For cron jobs, it is best to log output to a file or send it via email for monitoring purposes. For regular browser requests, output can be directly displayed on the webpage.
// Check if script is running from a cron job or a browser request
if (php_sapi_name() === 'cli') {
// Output for cron job
file_put_contents('cron_output.log', 'Cron job output here', FILE_APPEND);
} else {
// Output for browser request
echo 'Output for browser request here';
}