Improved Error Messages in PHP 5

Sometimes its the little things that make a difference. If you run the this test program in PHP 4 (tested on 4.4.7):

<?php
function test($arg) {
 echo "talk like a pirate."; 
}
test();
?>

You get the following message:

Warning: Missing argument 1 for test() in /usr/bin/- on line 2

The error message here is reported at the position of the definition of the function, but really the error was in how the function was called. The required parameter to test was not passed. This error can be annoying, forcing you to consult a stack trace to find the actual error location. Something some beginners may not know how to do.

However, if you run the same message in PHP 5 (tested on 5.2.2):

Warning: Missing argument 1 for test(), called in /Users/jeff/- on line 3 and defined in /Users/jeff/- on line 2

Sweet improvement!

One more reason to ditch PHP 4 and go php 5.