How can the use of PHP tags and proper variable handling improve the readability and security of PHP scripts?

Using PHP tags properly and implementing secure variable handling can improve the readability and security of PHP scripts by making the code more organized, easier to understand, and less prone to vulnerabilities like SQL injection or cross-site scripting attacks.

<?php
// Using PHP tags properly
$variable = "Hello, World!";
echo $variable;

// Secure variable handling
$user_input = $_POST['user_input']; // Assuming this is user input from a form
$clean_input = htmlspecialchars($user_input); // Sanitize user input
echo $clean_input;
?>