How can using meaningful variable names improve the readability and maintainability of PHP code?

Using meaningful variable names improves the readability and maintainability of PHP code by making it easier for other developers (or even yourself in the future) to understand the purpose of each variable. This can help reduce confusion and errors when working on the codebase. Additionally, meaningful variable names can make it easier to update or modify the code without introducing bugs.

// Bad variable names
$a = 5;
$b = 10;
$result = $a + $b;

// Good variable names
$firstNumber = 5;
$secondNumber = 10;
$sum = $firstNumber + $secondNumber;