How can PHP developers ensure consistency in number formatting across different platforms and locales?

To ensure consistency in number formatting across different platforms and locales, PHP developers can use the `NumberFormatter` class in PHP, which provides a convenient way to format numbers according to specific locales. By specifying the desired locale when creating a `NumberFormatter` object, developers can ensure that numbers are formatted consistently across different platforms and locales.

$number = 1234.56;
$locale = 'en_US';

$fmt = new NumberFormatter($locale, NumberFormatter::DECIMAL);
echo $fmt->format($number);