What does the function `strip_tags()` do in PHP?

The function strip_tags() in PHP is designed to remove HTML and PHP tags from a given string. This can be particularly useful when you want to sanitize user input by stripping away any potentially harmful tags that could lead to XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks or other security vulnerabilities. By using strip_tags(), developers ensure that they are working with a plain text version of the input, making it safer for processing or displaying on a web page.

For example, if the string contains HTML elements like <b>This is bold</b> or PHP opening and closing tags, applying strip_tags() would result in just This is bold, eliminating the risk associated with rendering HTML or processing any embedded PHP code. This functionality is crucial when handling user-generated content, ensuring that only desired text is processed or displayed.