How can data validation and sanitization be implemented to prevent security vulnerabilities in the PHP code?
Data validation and sanitization can be implemented in PHP code to prevent security vulnerabilities by ensuring that input data is in the expected format and free of malicious content. This can be achieved by using PHP functions like filter_var() to validate input data against predefined filters, and functions like htmlspecialchars() to sanitize input data by escaping special characters.
// Example of implementing data validation and sanitization in PHP code
// Validate input data using filter_var() function
$email = filter_var($_POST['email'], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL);
// Sanitize input data using htmlspecialchars() function
$username = htmlspecialchars($_POST['username'], ENT_QUOTES);