How can PHP developers ensure data validation and security when handling user input from HTML forms?

PHP developers can ensure data validation and security when handling user input from HTML forms by using functions like htmlspecialchars() to prevent XSS attacks, validating input using functions like filter_var() or regular expressions, and using prepared statements or parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection attacks. It's also important to sanitize and validate all user input before processing or storing it in the database. 

// Example PHP code snippet for data validation and security
$user_input = $_POST['user_input'];

// Sanitize user input to prevent XSS attacks
$user_input = htmlspecialchars($user_input);

// Validate user input using filter_var() function
if (!filter_var($user_input, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
    echo "Invalid email format";
} else {
    // Process the validated user input
    // Perform database operations using prepared statements or parameterized queries
}

Keywords

data validation security PHP developers user input HTML forms

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