In PHP, what are some common mistakes that developers make when handling data retrieval and display processes, and how can these be mitigated to improve code quality and functionality?

One common mistake is directly outputting user input without proper sanitization or validation, which can lead to security vulnerabilities like SQL injection or cross-site scripting attacks. To mitigate this, always sanitize and validate user input before displaying or using it in your application.

// Example of sanitizing user input using filter_var function
$userInput = $_POST['input'];
$cleanInput = filter_var($userInput, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
echo $cleanInput;