What are the potential pitfalls of using empty() versus == "" for checking if a variable is empty in PHP?

Using empty() in PHP can lead to unexpected results because it considers variables with a value of "0" or "0.0" as empty, which may not be the desired behavior. To accurately check if a variable is empty in PHP, it is recommended to use the strict comparison operator (===) with an empty string ("") instead.

// Incorrect way using empty()
if (empty($variable)) {
    echo "Variable is empty";
} else {
    echo "Variable is not empty";
}

// Correct way using strict comparison with empty string
if ($variable === "") {
    echo "Variable is empty";
} else {
    echo "Variable is not empty";
}