What are common pitfalls when working with variables in PHP?

Common pitfalls when working with variables in PHP include not properly initializing variables before using them, using incorrect variable names, and not properly escaping or sanitizing user input to prevent security vulnerabilities. To avoid these issues, always initialize variables before using them, double-check variable names for typos, and sanitize user input using functions like htmlentities() or mysqli_real_escape_string(). 

// Example of initializing variables before using them
$name = "John";
$age = 25;

// Example of using correct variable names
$first_name = "Jane";
$last_name = "Doe";

// Example of sanitizing user input
$user_input = $_POST['user_input'];
$sanitized_input = htmlentities($user_input);

Keywords

variable scope variable naming conventions variable type juggling variable initialization variable security

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