What are the best practices for separating the validation, escaping, and output processes in PHP applications?

It is essential to separate the validation, escaping, and output processes in PHP applications to ensure security and maintain clean code. Validation should be done on input data to ensure it meets the required criteria. Escaping should be done before outputting data to prevent XSS attacks. Finally, output processes should only handle displaying data, not manipulating it.

// Validation
$input = $_POST['input'];
if (!filter_var($input, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
    // handle invalid input
}

// Escaping
$escaped_output = htmlspecialchars($output);

// Output
echo $escaped_output;