is @unlink a bad practice? [closed]

Question

I'm usually against using @ as it can cause lots of headaches. But look at this two examples:

a)

if(file_exists('file'))
    unlink('file');

.

b)

@unlink('file');

.

It sounds like b is causing less disk lookups, which is good for performance. So my question is: would option b cause me any problem or has any disavantages in relation to a?

Answer 1

I would just go for the first one.

What if the file couldn't be deleted because of another reason than simply the fact that the file doesn't exist?