How can JOIN statements in SQL be used to optimize database queries in PHP applications?

JOIN statements in SQL can be used to optimize database queries in PHP applications by reducing the number of queries needed to retrieve related data from multiple tables. By using JOINs, you can combine data from different tables into a single result set, which can improve query performance and reduce the amount of data processing needed by the application.

<?php
// Connect to the database
$conn = new mysqli('localhost', 'username', 'password', 'database');

// Query to retrieve data from two tables using a JOIN statement
$query = "SELECT t1.column1, t2.column2
          FROM table1 AS t1
          JOIN table2 AS t2 ON t1.id = t2.id";

$result = $conn->query($query);

// Process the result set
if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
    while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
        // Do something with the data
        echo $row['column1'] . ' - ' . $row['column2'] . '<br>';
    }
} else {
    echo "No results found";
}

// Close the database connection
$conn->close();
?>