What role does the "echo" function play in PHP and how does its absence affect the code in this context?

The "echo" function in PHP is used to output data to the browser. In this context, its absence would mean that the code is not displaying any output to the user. To fix this, you can simply add an "echo" statement to display the desired data.

<?php
// Code without echo function
$variable = "Hello, World!";
// Missing echo statement to display the variable
?>
```

To fix the issue and display the variable, add an "echo" statement like this:

```php
<?php
// Code with echo function
$variable = "Hello, World!";
// Adding echo statement to display the variable
echo $variable;
?>