In what way does the user's approach to handling temperature values in PHP code impact the scalability and maintainability of their project, especially considering it is for a diploma thesis?

The user should ensure that temperature values in their PHP code are consistently handled using a standardized unit of measurement (e.g., Celsius or Fahrenheit) to avoid confusion and errors. This will improve the scalability and maintainability of the project, especially for a diploma thesis where accuracy and clarity are crucial.

// Define a function to convert temperature values to a standardized unit
function convertTemperature($value, $unit) {
    if ($unit === 'F') {
        return ($value - 32) * (5/9); // Convert Fahrenheit to Celsius
    } elseif ($unit === 'C') {
        return ($value * 9/5) + 32; // Convert Celsius to Fahrenheit
    } else {
        return false; // Invalid unit
    }
}

// Example of converting a temperature value to Celsius
$temperatureF = 68;
$temperatureC = convertTemperature($temperatureF, 'F');
echo "Temperature in Celsius: " . $temperatureC;