What are the best practices for handling file paths and names in PHP to ensure cross-browser compatibility?

When handling file paths and names in PHP to ensure cross-browser compatibility, it is important to use PHP's built-in functions for manipulating file paths and names. This includes using functions like `realpath()` to get the actual path of a file, `basename()` to extract the file name from a path, and `dirname()` to get the directory name from a path. Additionally, it is important to use forward slashes (/) as directory separators in paths, as this is supported by all major operating systems.

// Example of handling file paths and names in PHP
$path = '/path/to/file.txt';

// Get the actual path of the file
$realPath = realpath($path);

// Extract the file name from the path
$fileName = basename($path);

// Get the directory name from the path
$dirName = dirname($path);

// Using forward slashes as directory separators
$normalizedPath = str_replace('\\', '/', $path);