Sloppy PHP error handling is how a single bad API response takes down an entire checkout flow. Exceptions give you a structured way to fail loudly in development and gracefully in production.
Basic Try/Catch
try {
$result = 10 / $divisor;
if ($divisor === 0) {
throw new InvalidArgumentException("Divisor cannot be zero");
}
} catch (InvalidArgumentException $e) {
error_log($e->getMessage());
http_response_code(400);
} finally {
// always runs, even after a return or exception
echo "Request processed\n";
}
Custom Exception Classes
Extend Exception to create domain-specific error types (PaymentDeclinedException, UserNotFoundException) so calling code can catch precisely what it expects instead of swallowing every possible failure with one generic catch (Exception $e).