How can encoding and decoding of special characters be managed effectively in PHP when interacting with a database?

Special characters in data stored in a database can cause issues like SQL injection or display problems. To manage encoding and decoding effectively in PHP, use functions like htmlspecialchars() when inserting data into the database and htmlspecialchars_decode() when retrieving data from the database. This helps prevent SQL injection attacks and ensures that special characters are displayed correctly in your application.

// Inserting data into the database with encoding
$data = htmlspecialchars($data, ENT_QUOTES);
$query = "INSERT INTO table_name (column_name) VALUES ('$data')";
// Execute the query

// Retrieving data from the database with decoding
$query = "SELECT column_name FROM table_name";
// Execute the query
$data = htmlspecialchars_decode($data, ENT_QUOTES);
echo $data;