How can PHP developers combine the benefits of prepared statements with manual value checking, such as using is_numeric(), to enhance security in database operations?

To enhance security in database operations, PHP developers can combine the benefits of prepared statements with manual value checking by using functions like is_numeric() to validate input data before executing queries. This approach helps prevent SQL injection attacks and ensures that only valid data is passed to the database.

// Example code snippet combining prepared statements with manual value checking
$connection = new PDO("mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase", "username", "password");

$user_id = $_POST['user_id'];

if (is_numeric($user_id)) {
    $stmt = $connection->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = :user_id");
    $stmt->bindParam(':user_id', $user_id, PDO::PARAM_INT);
    $stmt->execute();
    $user = $stmt->fetch();
    
    if ($user) {
        // Process the retrieved user data
    } else {
        echo "User not found.";
    }
} else {
    echo "Invalid user ID.";
}