How can PHP developers ensure proper validation and sanitization of user input in forms to prevent vulnerabilities?

To ensure proper validation and sanitization of user input in forms, PHP developers can use functions like filter_var() for validation and htmlentities() or htmlspecialchars() for sanitization. These functions help prevent vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting attacks by filtering out potentially harmful input.

// Validate user input
$email = filter_var($_POST['email'], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL);

// Sanitize user input
$username = htmlentities($_POST['username']);
$password = htmlspecialchars($_POST['password']);