What are some best practices for handling and displaying error messages in PHP scripts to prevent interference with other output, like image data?

When handling and displaying error messages in PHP scripts to prevent interference with other output, like image data, it is best practice to use output buffering. This allows you to capture any error messages before they are sent to the browser and potentially corrupt image data. By buffering the output, you can handle errors separately and ensure that they do not interfere with other content.

<?php
ob_start();

// Your PHP code here

// Check for errors
if (/* condition for error */) {
    $error = "An error occurred";
    // Display error message or log it
}

ob_end_flush();
?>