In the PHP code provided, what improvements can be made to enhance readability and maintainability, especially in handling form data?

The issue with the provided PHP code is that it directly accesses form data using $_POST without any validation or sanitization, which can lead to security vulnerabilities and make the code harder to maintain. To enhance readability and maintainability, it is recommended to use filter_input() function for accessing form data, which provides built-in filtering and validation capabilities.

// Improved PHP code snippet using filter_input() for handling form data
$username = filter_input(INPUT_POST, 'username', FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
$email = filter_input(INPUT_POST, 'email', FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL);

if ($username && $email) {
    // Process the form data
} else {
    // Handle validation errors
}