php - Should I call exit() after calling Location: header?

After calling the redirect function header, should I call exit or not?

<?php // fileA
$urlFailToGoTo = '/formerror.php';

if (sth)
{
   header(sprintf("Location: %s", $urlFailToGoTo));
   exit(); //should I call exit() here? or return?
}

?>

Thank you

Solution 1:

You definitely should. Otherwise the script execution is not terminated. Setting another header alone is not enough to redirect.

Solution 2:

You should, just like @rgroli explains. If you do not want to bother with brackets, you can also call header() IN exit():

if(sth) exit(header("Location: http://example.com"));

Location header in HTTP/1.1 always requires absolute path see the note here.

Note: This is not a hack, since the exit code is used only if the parameter is integer, while header() produces void (it exits with code=0, normal exit). Look at it as exit_header() function like it should be after Location header.

Solution 3:

It's generally good practice to exit; (note - it's a keyword, so you don't need the ()) after sending a Location: header, since browsers are supposed to redirect to the new page and so further execution of the current script is usually undesired.

Solution 4:

If you don't have any code (PHP or HTML) under header, you don't have to.