How can the transition from using deprecated mysql_* functions to mysqli_* or PDO be smoothly implemented in PHP projects?

To smoothly transition from using deprecated mysql_* functions to mysqli_* or PDO in PHP projects, you can update your code to use prepared statements and parameterized queries for improved security and functionality. This involves replacing mysql_* functions with mysqli_* functions or PDO methods to interact with your database in a more secure and efficient manner.

// Deprecated mysql_* functions
$connection = mysql_connect('localhost', 'username', 'password');
mysql_select_db('database_name', $connection);
$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM table_name");

// Updated code using mysqli_* functions
$connection = mysqli_connect('localhost', 'username', 'password', 'database_name');
$result = mysqli_query($connection, "SELECT * FROM table_name");

// Updated code using PDO
$dsn = 'mysql:host=localhost;dbname=database_name';
$username = 'username';
$password = 'password';
$pdo = new PDO($dsn, $username, $password);
$stmt = $pdo->query("SELECT * FROM table_name");