How do I catch a PHP fatal (`E_ERROR`) error?

Question

I can use set_error_handler() to catch most PHP errors, but it doesn't work for fatal (E_ERROR) errors, such as calling a function that doesn't exist. Is there another way to catch these errors?

I am trying to call mail() for all errors and am running PHP 5.2.3.

Answer 1

Log fatal errors using the register_shutdown_function, which requires PHP 5.2+:

register_shutdown_function( "fatal_handler" );  function fatal_handler() {     $errfile = "unknown file";     $errstr  = "shutdown";     $errno   = E_CORE_ERROR;     $errline = 0;      $error = error_get_last();      if($error !== NULL) {         $errno   = $error["type"];         $errfile = $error["file"];         $errline = $error["line"];         $errstr  = $error["message"];          error_mail(format_error( $errno, $errstr, $errfile, $errline));     } } 

You will have to define the error_mail and format_error functions. For example:

function format_error( $errno, $errstr, $errfile, $errline ) {     $trace = print_r( debug_backtrace( false ), true );      $content = "     <table>         <thead><th>Item</th><th>Description</th></thead>         <tbody>             <tr>                 <th>Error</th>                 <td><pre>$errstr</pre></td>             </tr>             <tr>                 <th>Errno</th>                 <td><pre>$errno</pre></td>             </tr>             <tr>                 <th>File</th>                 <td>$errfile</td>             </tr>             <tr>                 <th>Line</th>                 <td>$errline</td>             </tr>             <tr>                 <th>Trace</th>                 <td><pre>$trace</pre></td>             </tr>         </tbody>     </table>";     return $content; } 

Use Swift Mailer to write the error_mail function.

See also:

• $php_errormsg
• Predefined Constants