What best practice should be followed when handling file operations in PHP to avoid endless loops or unnecessary processing?

When handling file operations in PHP, it is crucial to always check for the existence of the file before attempting any operations on it. This helps avoid endless loops or unnecessary processing that can occur when trying to read or write to a file that does not exist. By verifying the file's existence beforehand, you can ensure that your code only executes when the file is present, preventing any potential issues. 

$file_path = 'example.txt';

if (file_exists($file_path)) {
    // Perform file operations here
    $file_contents = file_get_contents($file_path);
    echo $file_contents;
} else {
    echo "File does not exist.";
}

Keywords

file operations PHP endless loops unnecessary processing error types

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