What are the best practices for handling and formatting currency values in PHP?

When handling and formatting currency values in PHP, it is important to use the appropriate functions to ensure accuracy and consistency. One common approach is to use the number_format() function to format the currency values with the desired precision and thousands separator. Additionally, it is recommended to use the money_format() function for locale-specific formatting of currency values.

// Format currency value with two decimal places and thousands separator
$amount = 1234.56;
$formatted_amount = number_format($amount, 2, '.', ',');

echo $formatted_amount; // Output: 1,234.56

// Format currency value with locale-specific formatting
setlocale(LC_MONETARY, 'en_US');
$amount = 1234.56;
$formatted_amount = money_format('%.2n', $amount);

echo $formatted_amount; // Output: $1,234.56