Are there any best practices for error handling and debugging in PHP, especially when dealing with database queries like in the forum thread?

When dealing with database queries in PHP, it is important to implement proper error handling and debugging techniques to catch and address any issues that may arise. One best practice is to use try-catch blocks to handle exceptions thrown by database queries and log any errors for debugging purposes. Additionally, using functions like mysqli_error() can help identify the specific error message returned by the database.

// Example of error handling and debugging in PHP when executing a database query

// Establish a database connection
$connection = mysqli_connect("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Check for connection errors
if (!$connection) {
    die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());
}

// Attempt to execute a query
try {
    $result = mysqli_query($connection, "SELECT * FROM table");
    if (!$result) {
        throw new Exception(mysqli_error($connection));
    }
    // Process query results
    while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
        // Handle each row
    }
} catch (Exception $e) {
    // Log the error message
    error_log("Error executing query: " . $e->getMessage());
}

// Close the database connection
mysqli_close($connection);