How does the availability of <?= in PHP 5.4 impact code readability and maintenance?

The availability of <?= in PHP 5.4 allows for short echo tags, which can make code more concise and readable. However, its usage can impact code maintenance as it may not be supported in all PHP configurations or versions. To ensure better compatibility and readability, it's recommended to use the full <?php echo syntax for echoing variables.

&lt;?php
// Instead of using &lt;?= $variable; 
echo $variable;
?&gt;