What potential issues can arise when setting SESSION variables in PHP, and how can they be troubleshooted?

Potential issues that can arise when setting SESSION variables in PHP include not starting the session before trying to set variables, not properly assigning values to the variables, or exceeding the server's maximum session storage capacity. To troubleshoot these issues, make sure to start the session using session_start() at the beginning of the script, properly assign values to the variables using $_SESSION['variable_name'] = 'value', and check the server configuration for session storage limits.

<?php
// Start the session
session_start();

// Set a session variable
$_SESSION['username'] = 'example';

// Display the session variable
echo $_SESSION['username'];
?>