How can PHP beginners ensure that their form submissions are properly linked to database updates using mysqli_query?

PHP beginners can ensure that their form submissions are properly linked to database updates using mysqli_query by first establishing a database connection, sanitizing user input to prevent SQL injection attacks, and then executing an SQL query to update the database with the submitted form data.

<?php
// Establish a database connection
$connection = mysqli_connect("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Check if the connection is successful
if (!$connection) {
    die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());
}

// Sanitize user input
$form_data = mysqli_real_escape_string($connection, $_POST['form_data']);

// Execute SQL query to update database
$query = "UPDATE table_name SET column_name = '$form_data' WHERE condition";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Check if the query was successful
if ($result) {
    echo "Database updated successfully";
} else {
    echo "Error updating database: " . mysqli_error($connection);
}

// Close the database connection
mysqli_close($connection);
?>