How can functions like strtr(), htmlspecialchars(), and htmlentities() be used to handle special characters in PHP?

Special characters in PHP can cause security vulnerabilities or display issues if not handled properly. Functions like strtr(), htmlspecialchars(), and htmlentities() can be used to safely handle special characters by converting them into their HTML entities. This ensures that the characters are displayed correctly and do not pose a threat to the application.

// Example of using htmlspecialchars() to handle special characters
$unsafe_input = "<script>alert('XSS Attack');</script>";
$safe_input = htmlspecialchars($unsafe_input, ENT_QUOTES);
echo $safe_input;