What are the best practices for handling file existence checks in PHP, especially when dealing with URL file-access restrictions?

When handling file existence checks in PHP, especially when dealing with URL file-access restrictions, it is important to use functions that do not rely on URL file access, such as file_exists(). This function can be used to check if a file exists on the server without needing to access it via a URL, thus avoiding any restrictions that may be in place. 

$file_path = 'path/to/file.txt';

if (file_exists($file_path)) {
    echo 'File exists!';
} else {
    echo 'File does not exist.';
}

Keywords

file_exists fopen is_readable error handling URL file-access restrictions

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