How can PHP developers implement input validation and sanitization techniques to enhance security when interacting with databases?

To enhance security when interacting with databases, PHP developers can implement input validation and sanitization techniques. Input validation ensures that data meets certain criteria before being processed, while sanitization cleans the data to prevent SQL injection attacks. By combining these techniques, developers can protect their databases from malicious input.

// Input validation and sanitization example
$input = $_POST['user_input'];

// Validate input
if (!filter_var($input, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
    die("Invalid email format");
}

// Sanitize input
$sanitized_input = mysqli_real_escape_string($connection, $input);

// Use sanitized input in database query
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '$sanitized_input'";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Process query result
// ...