What recommendations can be made for updating legacy PHP code, such as replacing outdated variables like $HTTP_POST_VARS with modern equivalents like $_POST, to prevent unexpected issues with functions like md5()?

Legacy PHP code often uses outdated variables like $HTTP_POST_VARS, which can lead to unexpected issues with functions like md5(). To prevent these issues, it is recommended to update the code to use modern equivalents like $_POST. Here is an example code snippet that demonstrates how to update the code:

// Legacy code using $HTTP_POST_VARS
$old_data = $HTTP_POST_VARS['data'];

// Updated code using $_POST
$new_data = $_POST['data'];

// Using updated code with md5()
$hashed_data = md5($new_data);