What are the common pitfalls in PHP programming that can lead to unexpected sorting results, and how can they be avoided?

Common pitfalls in PHP programming that can lead to unexpected sorting results include not specifying a sorting algorithm or not handling data types properly. To avoid these issues, always specify a sorting algorithm when sorting arrays in PHP, and ensure that the data types being sorted are compatible with the chosen algorithm.

// Example of sorting an array of strings using the sort() function
$fruits = array("apple", "orange", "banana");
sort($fruits);
print_r($fruits);