How can Prepared Statements in PHP help reduce the need for htmlspecialchars when handling user input?

Prepared Statements in PHP help reduce the need for htmlspecialchars when handling user input by automatically escaping special characters within the input data before executing the query. This helps prevent SQL injection attacks and ensures that user input is safely handled without the need for additional sanitization functions like htmlspecialchars.

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

// Prepare a SQL statement with a placeholder for user input
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO users (username, email) VALUES (:username, :email)");

// Bind user input to the placeholders
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $_POST['username']);
$stmt->bindParam(':email', $_POST['email']);

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