How can I ensure that my PHP code is secure and optimized when working with database queries and form population?
To ensure that your PHP code is secure and optimized when working with database queries and form population, you should use prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks and sanitize user input to prevent cross-site scripting attacks. Additionally, you can optimize your code by limiting the data retrieved from the database to only what is necessary for your application.
// Secure database query using prepared statements
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username");
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username);
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->fetch();
// Sanitize user input for form population
$username = htmlspecialchars($_POST['username']);
$email = filter_var($_POST['email'], FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL);