What best practices should be followed when including external PHP files in a script to avoid errors like "unexpected T_INCLUDE"?

When including external PHP files in a script, it is important to use the correct syntax to avoid errors like "unexpected T_INCLUDE." To do this, make sure to use the `include` or `require` statements followed by the file path enclosed in quotes. Additionally, it is good practice to use the `__DIR__` constant to specify the absolute path of the file to be included.

<?php
// Correct way to include an external PHP file
include __DIR__ . '/external_file.php';
?>