enigma1 - 11:29 am on Jun 5, 2009 (gmt 0)

The difference is the first method won't work well while the 2nd does. Not because the var assignment but of the exit command. The header alone doesn't guarantee the redirect ot be immediate unless it is the end of the script. While the 2nd does exits specifically so anything below that won't be executed.

btw the 2nd method with the $url var it should include the full url.

$url = 'http://www.example.com';