How can developers effectively debug and troubleshoot issues related to PHP form submissions and MySQL database interactions?

To effectively debug and troubleshoot PHP form submissions and MySQL database interactions, developers can utilize error reporting functions in PHP, such as error_reporting(E_ALL) and ini_set('display_errors', 1), to display any errors or warnings that may occur during form submission or database queries. Additionally, developers can use PHP functions like var_dump() or print_r() to inspect variables and data structures to identify any issues. Lastly, developers can use MySQL query logging to track and analyze database interactions for any potential problems.

<?php
// Enable error reporting and display errors
error_reporting(E_ALL);
ini_set('display_errors', 1);

// Sample code for handling form submission and database interaction
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
    $username = $_POST['username'];
    $password = $_POST['password'];
    
    // Establish database connection
    $conn = new mysqli('localhost', 'username', 'password', 'database');
    
    // Check for connection errors
    if ($conn->connect_error) {
        die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
    }
    
    // Prepare and execute MySQL query
    $sql = "INSERT INTO users (username, password) VALUES ('$username', '$password')";
    if ($conn->query($sql) === TRUE) {
        echo "New record created successfully";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $sql . "<br>" . $conn->error;
    }
    
    // Close database connection
    $conn->close();
}
?>