How can PHP beginners effectively handle sorting arrays in their code?

PHP beginners can effectively handle sorting arrays by using the built-in function `sort()` for ascending order or `rsort()` for descending order. These functions sort the elements of an array in place and maintain the key associations. Beginners can also use `asort()` for sorting arrays by values while maintaining key associations, or `arsort()` for sorting arrays by values in descending order.

// Example of sorting an array in ascending order
$numbers = array(4, 2, 8, 6, 1);
sort($numbers);
print_r($numbers);

// Example of sorting an array in descending order
$numbers = array(4, 2, 8, 6, 1);
rsort($numbers);
print_r($numbers);