In the context of PHP development, what are some common misconceptions or pitfalls associated with using template engines like Smarty, and how can these be avoided to ensure efficient and maintainable code?

One common misconception with using template engines like Smarty is that they can slow down the performance of a PHP application. To avoid this, it's important to properly cache template files and minimize the number of unnecessary template operations. Additionally, make sure to keep the template logic simple and avoid complex processing within the template files.

// Example of caching template files in Smarty
$smarty->caching = true;
$smarty->cache_lifetime = 3600; // Cache templates for 1 hour

// Display the cached template if available
if (!$smarty->isCached('template.tpl')) {
    // Process data and assign to template variables
    $smarty->assign('data', $data);
}

// Display the template
$smarty->display('template.tpl');