What potential issues should be considered when selecting a random file from a list in PHP?

One potential issue when selecting a random file from a list in PHP is ensuring that the selected file actually exists in the specified directory. To solve this, you can first check if the file exists before attempting to use it. 

// Get list of files in directory
$files = glob('path/to/directory/*');

// Check if there are any files in the directory
if (count($files) > 0) {
    // Select a random file from the list
    $randomFile = $files[array_rand($files)];
    
    // Check if the randomly selected file exists
    if (file_exists($randomFile)) {
        // Use the selected file
        echo "Random file: " . $randomFile;
    } else {
        echo "Selected file does not exist.";
    }
} else {
    echo "No files found in directory.";
}

Keywords

file handling random selection array_rand file_exists error handling

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