What are the best practices for separating PHP and JavaScript code to ensure smooth functionality in a web application?

To ensure smooth functionality in a web application, it is best practice to separate PHP and JavaScript code by keeping them in separate files. This separation helps to maintain a clean and organized codebase, making it easier to debug and maintain the application in the long run. By using AJAX requests to communicate between PHP and JavaScript, you can ensure seamless interaction without mixing the two languages in the same file.

// index.php
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Separating PHP and JavaScript Code</title>
    <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.5.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <button id="getData">Get Data</button>
    <div id="output"></div>

    <script>
        $(document).ready(function(){
            $('#getData').click(function(){
                $.ajax({
                    url: 'getData.php',
                    type: 'GET',
                    success: function(response){
                        $('#output').html(response);
                    }
                });
            });
        });
    </script>
</body>
</html>
```

```php
// getData.php
<?php
// Simulating fetching data from a database
$data = ['John', 'Doe', 'example@example.com'];

echo json_encode($data);
?>