can anyone explain what '@' does?

[ioloop]

i had a problem with mysql_num_rows() returning an error for no aparent reason - using @ in front fixed the problem but i have no idea why or what @ does - can someone explain it please?

[Drakla]

It suppresses error messages for that statement, so you're not solving the problem, you're just hiding it.

[Frederick]

Example: if there was a query error in your statement, the @ symbol will not allow the error message to display and continue rending the page.

Options of using @ symbol is to create your own custom error messages.

Ex1:

$loadfile = @include("path/filename.php");
if (!$loadfile) echo "File not found";

Ex2:

$query = @mysql_query("SELECT * FROM tablename");
if (!$query) echo "Failed to locate data";