In PHP, what are the implications of not following proper variable initialization practices, especially in comparison to other programming languages like Java?

Not following proper variable initialization practices in PHP can lead to unexpected behavior or errors in your code. It is important to initialize variables before using them to avoid undefined variable warnings or notices. In comparison to languages like Java, PHP does not require variable declarations before use, but it is still good practice to initialize variables to ensure code reliability.

// Proper variable initialization in PHP
$variable = ''; // initialize the variable with an empty string

// Now you can safely use the variable without any issues
echo $variable;