Image: Pixabay PHP allows you to have multiple catch blocks. The manual says that when an exception occurs PHP will try to find the first matching exception block, but it isn't entirely clear on exactly how PHP matches "catch" blocks when handling exceptions. Why is it important to understand how PHP matches a catch block? It really relates to the fact that you are able to extend the base "Exception" class in PHP to make your own classes. Throwing exceptions that are specific is good practice because it allows you to write catch blocks that are focused on solving just one sort of problem at a time. The SPL exceptions are a good example of hierarchical exception inheritance in case you're wanting to see some practical usage. In PHP a catch block is a match for an exception if the exception class is either the same as or inherits from the class in the catch clause. Here's a trivial example: In this example I've set up an excepti...