What potential pitfalls should be considered when executing batch files in PHP?

When executing batch files in PHP, potential pitfalls to consider include security risks such as command injection vulnerabilities, as well as the need to handle errors and output from the batch file properly. To mitigate these risks, it is important to sanitize any user input that is used in the batch file command and to use functions like `exec()` or `shell_exec()` with caution. 

$batchFile = 'example.bat';
$userInput = $_POST['input'];

// Sanitize user input
$sanitizedInput = escapeshellarg($userInput);

// Execute batch file with sanitized input
$output = shell_exec("{$batchFile} {$sanitizedInput}");

// Handle errors or output
if ($output === null) {
    echo "Batch file executed successfully.";
} else {
    echo "Error executing batch file: {$output}";
}

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