How can the function format_entries be optimized to avoid errors related to variable scope in PHP?

The issue with variable scope in PHP can be solved by explicitly declaring variables as global or passing them as parameters to the function. This ensures that the function can access and modify the variables without any scope-related errors.

function format_entries($entries) {
    global $user_id;
    
    foreach ($entries as $entry) {
        // Process entry using $user_id
    }
}

$user_id = 123;
$entries = [/* entries data */];
format_entries($entries);