What are best practices for handling API requests in PHP to avoid endless loops?

When handling API requests in PHP, it's important to implement proper error handling and timeout mechanisms to avoid endless loops. One way to prevent endless loops is to set a maximum number of retries for API requests and implement exponential backoff strategies in case of failures.

<?php

// Set maximum number of retries
$maxRetries = 3;
$retryCount = 0;

// API request function with exponential backoff
function makeApiRequest($url) {
    global $retryCount, $maxRetries;
    
    $response = null;
    
    while ($retryCount < $maxRetries) {
        $response = sendRequest($url);
        
        if ($response !== null) {
            break;
        } else {
            $retryCount++;
            sleep(pow(2, $retryCount)); // Exponential backoff
        }
    }
    
    return $response;
}

// Function to send API request
function sendRequest($url) {
    // Implement API request logic here
    // Return API response or null in case of failure
}

// Example API request
$response = makeApiRequest('https://api.example.com/data');

// Process API response
if ($response !== null) {
    // Handle API response
} else {
    // Handle API request failure after maximum retries
}

?>