How can PHP developers ensure that form data is properly sanitized and validated before use?
PHP developers can ensure that form data is properly sanitized and validated before use by using functions like filter_var() to sanitize input data and validate it against specific filters such as FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL, etc. Additionally, developers can use functions like htmlspecialchars() to prevent XSS attacks by escaping special characters in the input data.
// Sanitize and validate form data
$name = filter_var($_POST['name'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
$email = filter_var($_POST['email'], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL);
// Prevent XSS attacks
$comment = htmlspecialchars($_POST['comment']);