What are the potential pitfalls of using PHP's short tags like "<?" instead of "<?php" and how can they be avoided?

Using PHP's short tags like "<?" can lead to compatibility issues if the server's configuration does not support short tags. To avoid this, it's recommended to always use the full "<?php" opening tag to ensure maximum compatibility with different server configurations.

&lt;?php
// Code snippet using full opening tag &quot;&lt;?php&quot;
echo &quot;Hello, World!&quot;;
?&gt;