What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the "@" symbol in PHP error handling?

Using the "@" symbol in PHP error handling suppresses error messages, which can be useful in certain situations to prevent error messages from being displayed to users. However, it is generally considered bad practice as it can make debugging more difficult and hide potential issues in the code. 

```php
// Example of using "@" symbol in PHP error handling
@file_get_contents('example.txt');
```
Instead of using the "@" symbol, it is recommended to use proper error handling techniques such as try-catch blocks or error_reporting to handle errors effectively and improve the overall quality of the code.

Keywords

error suppression error control operator error reporting exception handling error handling

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