How can PHP developers ensure their code is secure when interacting with databases?

To ensure that PHP code is secure when interacting with databases, developers should use prepared statements with parameterized queries instead of directly inserting user input into SQL queries. This helps prevent SQL injection attacks by separating SQL logic from user input data.

// Establish a database connection
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password');

// Prepare a SQL statement with a parameterized query
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username');

// Bind the parameter values
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username);

// Execute the prepared statement
$stmt->execute();

// Fetch the results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();