What are common pitfalls to avoid when working with PHP functions like var_dump() and fetch()?

One common pitfall when working with PHP functions like var_dump() and fetch() is not properly handling the output or return value. It's important to check the result of these functions to avoid unexpected behavior or errors in your code. Make sure to assign the return value of fetch() to a variable and use var_dump() in conjunction with die() to display the output and stop the script execution if needed.

// Example of properly handling fetch() return value
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM table");
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

if($result) {
    var_dump($result);
} else {
    echo "No results found.";
}