What are the best practices for handling error messages and debugging when using shell_exec in PHP?

When using shell_exec in PHP, it is important to properly handle error messages and debugging to ensure the security and stability of your application. One way to do this is by checking the return value of shell_exec for errors and displaying them if necessary. Additionally, you can use functions like error_log to log any errors that occur during the execution of shell commands.

$command = 'your_shell_command_here';
$output = shell_exec($command);

if ($output === null) {
    $error = error_get_last();
    error_log('Error executing shell command: ' . $error['message']);
} else {
    // Process the output of the shell command
}