How can the ROW_NUMBER() function be utilized in PHP MySQL queries to achieve specific data retrieval goals?

The ROW_NUMBER() function in MySQL can be used to assign a unique sequential integer to each row in a result set. This can be useful for tasks such as pagination or ranking data based on specific criteria. In PHP, you can utilize this function in your MySQL queries to achieve these specific data retrieval goals by incorporating it into your SELECT statement.

// Connect to the database
$connection = mysqli_connect("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Query to retrieve data with row numbers
$query = "SELECT *, ROW_NUMBER() OVER() AS row_num FROM table_name";

// Execute the query
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Fetch and display the results
while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
    echo "Row Number: " . $row['row_num'] . " - Data: " . $row['column_name'] . "<br>";
}

// Close the connection
mysqli_close($connection);