PHP tag closing-- when is needed?

Question

It's recommended that one should not put a PHP closing tag at the end of the file to avoid all sorts of untoward error. But is there any circumstances when PHP tag closing is needed?

Answer 1

A closing tag is needed if you want to switch from the PHP code block to the plain text output.

Here’s an example:

<?php
    // PHP code block
?>
<!-- plain text output and not processed by PHP -->
</body>