How can the use of trim() function affect the comparison of strings in PHP, as seen in the provided code snippet?

Using the trim() function in PHP can affect the comparison of strings by removing leading or trailing whitespace, which can alter the comparison result. To solve this issue, you should apply the trim() function to both strings before comparing them. This ensures that any extra whitespace is removed, and the comparison is based solely on the content of the strings.

$string1 = "   Hello   ";
$string2 = "Hello";

// Applying trim() function to both strings before comparison
if (trim($string1) === trim($string2)) {
    echo "Strings are equal after trimming whitespace.";
} else {
    echo "Strings are not equal after trimming whitespace.";
}