Suppress PHP error from a odbc_connect call

Question

Let's say I do a odbc_connect call, deliberately using erroneous information, as follows:

<?PHP odbc_connect('bogus','bogus','bogus'); ?>

Now, the manual states that odbc_connect "[r]eturns an ODBC connection id or 0 (FALSE) on error". I'm okay with the 0 being returned, but when I'm running the file (using Wampserver), I also receive error messages telling me that something went wrong.

I would like to suppress this error message, since I'm trying to build a PHP file that only echoes a certain piece of text, like "unsuccessful", when the information for the database call was wrong.

Answer 1

Use a try-catch:

<?php
try {
    odbc_connect('bogus', 'bogus', 'bogus');
} catch (Exception $e) {
    // handle your exception
}

Answer 2

You can also use @ to suppress error messages on a single line - but it isn't good practice.

<?PHP @odbc_connect('bogus','bogus','bogus'); ?>

Error messages are there for a reason, don't ignore them. Use something like @Matt suggests and trap them as needed - not just hush them up.

Answer 3

You can use the error-suppression operator @.

<?php
    $conn = @odbc_connect('bogus','bogus','bogus');
?>