How can htmlentities() and strip_tags functions help prevent security vulnerabilities in PHP code?

Using htmlentities() and strip_tags() functions can help prevent security vulnerabilities in PHP code by sanitizing user input. htmlentities() function converts special characters to HTML entities, preventing XSS attacks by rendering the input harmless. strip_tags() function removes any HTML or PHP tags from the input, preventing potential code injection attacks.

// Sanitize user input using htmlentities() and strip_tags()
$userInput = "<script>alert('XSS attack!');</script>";
$sanitizedInput = strip_tags(htmlentities($userInput));

echo $sanitizedInput;