What are some basic principles of PHP that should be understood when working with files containing mixed PHP and text content?

When working with files containing mixed PHP and text content, it is important to understand the concept of PHP opening and closing tags. PHP code should be enclosed within `<?php ?>` tags to ensure it is executed properly, while text content outside of these tags will be treated as plain text. Additionally, it is crucial to properly handle escaping characters within the text content to prevent any syntax errors.

&lt;?php
// Read the contents of a file containing mixed PHP and text content
$file = &#039;mixed_content.php&#039;;
$contents = file_get_contents($file);

// Output the contents, treating PHP code as plain text
echo htmlspecialchars($contents);
?&gt;