What are the best practices for handling global variables in PHP to ensure proper functionality?

Global variables in PHP can lead to unexpected behavior and make code harder to maintain. It is best practice to avoid using global variables whenever possible. If you must use them, consider encapsulating them within a class or using a configuration file to store global values.

// Avoid using global variables
$globalVariable = 'Avoid using global variables whenever possible';

// Encapsulate global variables within a class
class GlobalVariables {
    public static $globalVariable = 'Encapsulate global variables within a class';
}

// Use a configuration file to store global values
$config = include('config.php');
echo $config['globalVariable'];