What potential pitfalls should be avoided when accessing XML data in PHP?

One potential pitfall when accessing XML data in PHP is not properly handling errors that may occur during the parsing process. To avoid this, it is important to use error handling techniques, such as try-catch blocks, to catch and handle any potential errors that may arise.

try {
    $xml = simplexml_load_file('data.xml');
    
    // Access XML data here
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo 'Error loading XML: ' . $e->getMessage();
}