How can developers effectively use count() function in PHP to check the number of entries in an array before accessing specific values?

When working with arrays in PHP, it is important to check the number of entries in the array before trying to access specific values to avoid errors like "Undefined offset." The count() function in PHP can be used to get the number of elements in an array, allowing developers to safely access array values without going out of bounds.

$array = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];

if (count($array) > 0) {
    // Access specific values in the array
    echo $array[0]; // Output: 1
} else {
    echo "Array is empty";
}