What are the potential pitfalls of using short tags in PHP code, and why are they considered problematic?

Using short tags in PHP code can be problematic because they are not always enabled by default in PHP configurations, which can lead to compatibility issues when moving code between different servers. Additionally, short tags can be confused with XML processing instructions, potentially causing parsing errors. To avoid these pitfalls, it is recommended to use the full `<?php ?>` tags for maximum compatibility.

&lt;?php
// Code here
?&gt;