Are there any specific considerations to keep in mind when working with MySQL databases in PHP scripts?

When working with MySQL databases in PHP scripts, it is important to properly sanitize user input to prevent SQL injection attacks. Use prepared statements or parameterized queries to securely interact with the database. Additionally, always remember to close the database connection after executing queries to free up resources.

// Connect to MySQL database
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "database";

$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}

// Sanitize user input
$user_input = mysqli_real_escape_string($conn, $_POST['user_input']);

// Prepare and execute a parameterized query
$stmt = $conn->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ?");
$stmt->bind_param("s", $user_input);
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->get_result();

// Process the result set
while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
    // Do something with the data
}

// Close the database connection
$stmt->close();
$conn->close();