What are the advantages of using the PHPMailer library instead of the native mail() function for sending emails in PHP applications?

The PHPMailer library provides a more robust and secure way to send emails in PHP applications compared to the native mail() function. It offers features like SMTP authentication, HTML email support, attachment capabilities, and better error handling. Using PHPMailer can help prevent emails from being marked as spam and provides more flexibility in customizing the email sending process. 

// Include the PHPMailer library
require 'path/to/PHPMailer/src/PHPMailer.php';

// Create a new PHPMailer instance
$mail = new PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer();

// Set up the email parameters
$mail->isSMTP();
$mail->Host = 'smtp.example.com';
$mail->SMTPAuth = true;
$mail->Username = 'your@example.com';
$mail->Password = 'your_password';
$mail->SMTPSecure = 'tls';
$mail->Port = 587;

$mail->setFrom('from@example.com', 'Your Name');
$mail->addAddress('recipient@example.com', 'Recipient Name');
$mail->Subject = 'Subject of the email';
$mail->Body = 'This is the body of the email';

// Send the email
if($mail->send()) {
    echo 'Email sent successfully';
} else {
    echo 'Error sending email: ' . $mail->ErrorInfo;
}

Keywords

PHP PHPMailer mail() email applications

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