Is using strip_tags function sufficient for filtering out dangerous content in PHP applications, or are there better alternatives?

Using `strip_tags` function alone is not sufficient for filtering out dangerous content in PHP applications, as it only removes HTML tags. To ensure better security, it is recommended to use additional filtering methods such as `htmlspecialchars` to prevent cross-site scripting attacks. By combining multiple filtering functions, you can effectively sanitize user input and prevent potentially harmful content from being processed by your application.

// Example of using strip_tags and htmlspecialchars together for sanitizing user input
$unsafe_input = "<script>alert('XSS attack!');</script>";
$safe_input = htmlspecialchars(strip_tags($unsafe_input));
echo $safe_input;