What steps can be taken to troubleshoot and debug PHP scripts that encounter HTTP request failures and 404 errors when accessing external URLs?

When encountering HTTP request failures and 404 errors when accessing external URLs in PHP scripts, the issue may be related to incorrect URLs, server-side restrictions, or network connectivity problems. To troubleshoot and debug these errors, you can check the URL for typos, verify the server's response headers, and ensure that the network connection is stable. Additionally, you can use PHP functions like `file_get_contents()` or `curl_exec()` to handle HTTP requests and capture error responses for further analysis.

$url = 'https://example.com/api/data';
$response = file_get_contents($url);

if($response === false){
    echo "Error accessing URL: $url";
} else {
    // Process the response data
    echo $response;
}