How can the use of global variables in PHP functions impact the functionality of a form submission?

Using global variables in PHP functions can impact the functionality of a form submission by making the code harder to debug and maintain. It can also lead to unexpected behavior if the global variable is modified unintentionally within the function. To solve this issue, it is recommended to pass variables as parameters to the function instead of relying on global scope.

// Incorrect way using global variable
$globalVar = "";

function processForm() {
    global $globalVar;
    $globalVar = $_POST['form_data'];
}

// Correct way passing variables as parameters
function processForm($formData) {
    // Process form data here
}

// Call the function with form data
$formData = $_POST['form_data'];
processForm($formData);