Are there any specific guidelines or best practices for handling date functions and variables in PHP scripts?

When handling date functions and variables in PHP scripts, it is important to ensure that you are using the correct date format and functions to avoid errors. One common best practice is to use the `date()` function along with the `strtotime()` function to manipulate dates and times effectively.

// Example of using date() and strtotime() functions to handle dates in PHP
$currentDate = date('Y-m-d'); // Get the current date in YYYY-MM-DD format
$nextWeek = date('Y-m-d', strtotime('+1 week')); // Get the date of next week
echo "Current Date: $currentDate <br>";
echo "Next Week Date: $nextWeek";