Question

Example:

function example($x = "")
{
    Do something
}

Isn’t $x empty by default already? Why set it explicitly?

Answer 1

Isn’t $x empty by default already?

If no default is specified, $x is not an empty string by default, but an undefined variable. There is a difference between "" and NULL or undefined.
However, setting the default allows you to omit the parameter when calling the function, without it throwing a warning.

<?php
function test1($x = "DEFAULT") {
    echo $x;
}
function test2($x) {
    echo $x;
}

// Call each without the parameter $x:    
test1();
// DEFAULT

test2();
// Output:
PHP Warning:  Missing argument 1 for test2(), called in /home/mjb/test.php on line 10 and defined in /home/user/test.php on line 5
PHP Notice:  Undefined variable: x in /home/user/test.php on line 6