PHP Error Control Operator: The @ Symbol

In programming languages like PHP, operators are special symbols that tell the compiler to perform specific mathematical, relational or logical operation. A little known, but highly useful operator in PHP is the error control operator, represented by an '@' symbol.

The error control operator in PHP is used to suppress any errors that might be thrown by an expression. When prepended to an expression in PHP, any error messages that might be generated by that expression will be ignored.

Here's a basic example of its usage:

$myFile = @file('non_existent_file.txt') or die("Failed opening file: error was '$php_errormsg'");

In this example, the code attempts to open a file that doesn't exist. Normally, PHP would throw an error message, but because the expression is preceded by the '@' symbol, no error message is shown. Instead, the script dies and shows the custom error message 'Failed opening file: error was...'

While the error control operator is a great tool in some specific situations, it is generally recommended to avoid using this operator, or use it sparingly. This is because:

1. Performance: The @ operator incurs noticeable performance overhead.
2. Debugging: It can make debugging difficult, as legitimate errors can go unnoticed or unreported.

As a best practice, rather than suppressing errors outright, it can be more useful to handle them properly using error handling functions or exceptions which PHP provides. This allows for a more robust and error-free code and enhance software quality.

Overall, the error control operator is a unique feature of PHP that, when used correctly, can help in the execution of scripts without interruption from non-critical errors. High-quality, maintainable PHP code, however, seeks to minimize its use in favor of proper error handling and exceptions.