How can one verify if a PHP SQL query is returning the expected results?

To verify if a PHP SQL query is returning the expected results, you can use the `var_dump()` or `print_r()` functions to output the results of the query. This will allow you to see the data returned by the query and verify if it matches your expectations. Additionally, you can use conditional statements to check specific values or perform further validation on the results.

// Execute the SQL query
$query = "SELECT * FROM table_name";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Check if the query was successful
if($result) {
    // Fetch and output the results
    while($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
        var_dump($row); // Output the results for verification
    }
} else {
    echo "Error executing query: " . mysqli_error($connection);
}