What is the significance of using strip_tags() and htmlentities() functions in PHP code?

Using strip_tags() and htmlentities() functions in PHP code is significant for security purposes. strip_tags() helps to remove any HTML or PHP tags from a string, preventing potential XSS attacks. htmlentities() converts special characters to their HTML entities, making it safe to output user input on a webpage without risking script injection.

// Example of using strip_tags() and htmlentities() functions for security
$input = "<script>alert('XSS attack!');</script>";
$clean_input = strip_tags($input);
$safe_output = htmlentities($clean_input);

echo $safe_output;