How do you handle exceptions in PHP?

Handling exceptions in PHP is primarily accomplished through the use of try-catch blocks. This method allows developers to define a block of code that may potentially throw an exception within a try block. If an exception occurs, the control is transferred to the corresponding catch block, which can contain code to handle the exception gracefully. This structure provides a straightforward way to manage errors and ensures that the application can recover from unexpected issues without terminating abruptly.

The try-catch mechanism also enables you to catch specific types of exceptions, allowing for more refined error handling strategies. This capability is crucial for producing robust and maintainable applications, as it encourages the separation of normal logic from error handling.

While other approaches such as if-else statements or custom error handlers exist, they do not provide the same level of control and specificity regarding exception processing as try-catch does. Additionally, error_reporting() is a function for setting the error reporting level in PHP, and it does not handle exceptions; rather, it configures how errors should be reported. Therefore, using try-catch blocks is the most effective and standard way to manage exceptions in PHP applications.