How can the use of relative paths in PHP code lead to inconsistencies between local development environments and live servers?

When using relative paths in PHP code, inconsistencies between local development environments and live servers can arise because the file structure may differ between the two environments. To solve this issue, it is recommended to use absolute paths or define a base path variable that can be used to construct paths dynamically.

// Define a base path variable
$base_path = $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'];

// Using the base path variable to construct paths
include($base_path . '/includes/config.php');