How can the use of $GLOBALS in PHP code impact the readability and maintainability of the code, as discussed in the thread?

Using $GLOBALS in PHP code can impact readability and maintainability by making it difficult to track where variables are being modified or accessed throughout the codebase. Instead of relying on global variables, it's better to pass variables explicitly to functions or use classes and objects to encapsulate data.

// Avoid using $GLOBALS
function myFunction() {
    global $myGlobalVar;
    // code that uses $myGlobalVar
}

// Use parameters to pass variables explicitly
function myFunction($myParam) {
    // code that uses $myParam
}