What are the best practices for error handling and debugging in PHP when data is not being saved as expected?

When data is not being saved as expected in PHP, it is important to implement proper error handling and debugging techniques to identify the root cause of the issue. One common practice is to use try-catch blocks to catch any exceptions that may occur during the data saving process and log relevant error messages for debugging purposes.

try {
    // Code to save data to database
    $result = saveData($data);
    
    if (!$result) {
        throw new Exception('Error saving data to database');
    }
    
    echo 'Data saved successfully';
} catch (Exception $e) {
    error_log('Error: ' . $e->getMessage());
    // Additional debugging steps can be added here, such as logging stack trace or specific data values
}