How can beginners troubleshoot and fix issues related to sending emails using PHP's mail() function in a local development environment like XAMPP?

Beginners can troubleshoot and fix issues related to sending emails using PHP's mail() function in a local development environment like XAMPP by checking the SMTP settings in the php.ini file, ensuring the 'sendmail_from' parameter is set correctly, and verifying that the email address being used is valid. Additionally, they can check for any error messages or logs to identify the specific issue causing the email not to be sent.

// Example PHP code snippet to send an email using the mail() function in XAMPP
$to = "recipient@example.com";
$subject = "Test Email";
$message = "This is a test email sent from PHP's mail() function in XAMPP.";
$headers = "From: sender@example.com";

if (mail($to, $subject, $message, $headers)) {
    echo "Email sent successfully.";
} else {
    echo "Email sending failed.";
}