How can PHP developers effectively troubleshoot issues related to database updates not reflecting changes in the application?

Issue: If database updates are not reflecting changes in the application, it could be due to caching mechanisms or incorrect database connection settings. To troubleshoot this, developers can check if the database connection is established correctly, clear any caching mechanisms that might be storing old data, and ensure that the application is querying the database for the most up-to-date information.

// Check database connection settings
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "database";

$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}

// Clear any caching mechanisms
// For example, if using PHP's OPcache, restart the OPcache or disable it temporarily

// Query the database for the most up-to-date information
$sql = "SELECT * FROM table";
$result = $conn->query($sql);

if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
    while($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
        // Process data
    }
} else {
    echo "0 results";
}

$conn->close();