How can a WHERE clause be effectively used in a PHP database query to retrieve specific data based on user input?

To retrieve specific data based on user input in a PHP database query, you can use a WHERE clause to filter the results based on the user-provided criteria. This allows you to fetch only the records that match the specified conditions, such as a specific username, ID, or any other parameter. By dynamically constructing the WHERE clause based on user input, you can tailor the query results to meet the user's requirements.

// Assuming $userInput contains the user-provided value
$userInput = $_POST['user_input'];

// Construct the SQL query with a WHERE clause
$sql = "SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE column_name = :user_input";

// Prepare the statement
$stmt = $pdo->prepare($sql);

// Bind the user input to the parameter in the query
$stmt->bindParam(':user_input', $userInput);

// Execute the query
$stmt->execute();

// Fetch the results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

// Loop through the results and display them
foreach ($results as $row) {
    echo $row['column_name'] . "<br>";
}