How can the LAST_INSERT_ID() function in MySQL be utilized effectively in PHP applications?

The LAST_INSERT_ID() function in MySQL can be utilized effectively in PHP applications to retrieve the auto-generated ID from the last INSERT query. This is particularly useful when you need to get the ID of a newly inserted row for further processing or for maintaining data integrity.

// Perform an INSERT query
$query = "INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2) VALUES ('value1', 'value2')";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Get the last inserted ID
$last_insert_id = mysqli_insert_id($connection);

// Use the last inserted ID for further processing
echo "The last inserted ID is: " . $last_insert_id;