What are the best practices for debugging PHP code to identify issues like missing database connections?

To debug PHP code for missing database connections, it is important to check the database connection settings in the code and ensure they are correct. Additionally, using error handling techniques such as try-catch blocks can help identify and handle connection errors gracefully. Logging errors to a file or outputting them to the browser can also provide valuable information for troubleshooting.

<?php

$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "database";

try {
    $conn = new PDO("mysql:host=$servername;dbname=$dbname", $username, $password);
    $conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
    echo "Connected successfully";
} catch(PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection failed: " . $e->getMessage();
}

?>