How can prepared statements or parameterized queries improve PHP database operations?

Prepared statements or parameterized queries can improve PHP database operations by preventing SQL injection attacks, improving performance by reusing query execution plans, and providing a cleaner and more secure way to interact with databases.

// Using prepared statements in PHP to prevent SQL injection
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username");
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username);
$stmt->execute();
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();