How can PHP developers effectively debug and test their SQL queries to ensure they are generating the desired results?

To effectively debug and test SQL queries in PHP, developers can use tools like phpMyAdmin or MySQL Workbench to run the queries directly on the database and check the results. They can also use PHP functions like mysqli_error() to display any errors that occur during query execution. Additionally, developers can echo or var_dump the query string before executing it to ensure it is generating the desired SQL statement.

// Example PHP code snippet to debug and test SQL queries
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 1";
echo $query; // Display the query string
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

if (!$result) {
    echo "Error: " . mysqli_error($connection); // Display any errors that occur during query execution
} else {
    // Process the query result
}