PHP exit() Function

The PHP exit() function outputs a message and terminates execution of the current script.

Shutdown functions and object destructors will always be executed even if exit is called.

exit is a language construct and it can be called without parentheses if no status is passed.

Syntax

exit(status)

Parameters

Return Value

No value is returned.

Example: exit() example

The example below shows how to use exit() function.

<?php
error_reporting(E_ERROR);

$filename = 'test.txt';
$file = fopen($filename, 'r')
    or exit("Unable to open file $filename");
?>

The output of the above code will be:

Unable to open file test.txt

Example: exit status example

In the example below status is passed as an int which is used as the exit status by the program.

<?php
//exit program normally
exit;
exit();
exit(0);

//exit with an error code
exit(1);
exit(0376); //octal
?>

Example: shutdown functions and destructors run regardless

The example below shows that the shutdown functions and object destructors are executed even if exit is called.

<?php
//defining a class
class Foo {
  public function __destruct() {
    echo 'Destruct: ' . __METHOD__ . '()' . PHP_EOL;
  }
}

//defining a shutdown function
function shutdown() {
  echo 'Shutdown: ' . __FUNCTION__ . '()' . PHP_EOL;
}

//creating an object of class Foo
$foo = new Foo();

//registering the shutdown function
register_shutdown_function('shutdown');

//calling exit
exit();
echo 'This will not be displayed.';
?>

The output of the above code will be:

Shutdown: shutdown()
Destruct: Foo::__destruct()