What is the purpose of using the "die" function in PHP and what are the potential consequences of using it in certain situations?

The "die" function in PHP is used to immediately terminate the execution of a script and display a message. It can be useful for debugging or handling errors in a script. However, using "die" in certain situations can abruptly stop the script, potentially leaving tasks unfinished or causing unexpected behavior.

// Example of using the "die" function to handle an error
$file = fopen("example.txt", "r");
if (!$file) {
    die("Unable to open file!");
}
// continue script execution if file was successfully opened