How can the use of trailing slashes impact the functionality of PHP functions like addFileAndRead in a backup system?

Using trailing slashes inconsistently in file paths can lead to errors in PHP functions like addFileAndRead in a backup system. To ensure the correct functionality of the function, it's important to consistently use trailing slashes in file paths to avoid path concatenation issues.

function addFileAndRead($directory, $filename) {
    $filePath = rtrim($directory, '/') . '/' . ltrim($filename, '/');
    
    // Rest of the function logic here
}