How can PHP scripts be optimized for data handling and processing efficiency when working with multiple MySQL tables?

When working with multiple MySQL tables in PHP scripts, it is important to optimize data handling and processing efficiency by minimizing the number of queries and utilizing joins where possible. One way to achieve this is by using JOIN clauses in MySQL queries to fetch related data from multiple tables in a single query, rather than making separate queries for each table.

// Example of using JOIN clause to fetch data from multiple tables in a single query
$query = "SELECT users.username, orders.order_id FROM users
          JOIN orders ON users.user_id = orders.user_id
          WHERE users.user_id = 1";

$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

if (mysqli_num_rows($result) > 0) {
    while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
        echo "Username: " . $row['username'] . " - Order ID: " . $row['order_id'] . "<br>";
    }
} else {
    echo "No results found.";
}