What are some best practices for passing variables to functions in PHP?

When passing variables to functions in PHP, it is best practice to use parameters to ensure that the function receives the necessary data. This helps make the code more readable and maintainable. Additionally, using type hints can help enforce the type of data being passed to the function, reducing the likelihood of errors.

// Example of passing variables to a function in PHP
function calculateSum(int $num1, int $num2) {
    return $num1 + $num2;
}

$result = calculateSum(5, 3);
echo $result; // Output: 8