How can the use of deprecated functions like mysql_connect and mysql_query in PHP be avoided for better code maintainability?

Using deprecated functions like mysql_connect and mysql_query in PHP can be avoided for better code maintainability by switching to mysqli or PDO for database connections and queries. These newer alternatives provide better security features, support for prepared statements, and are actively maintained by the PHP community. By updating your code to use mysqli or PDO, you can future-proof your application and ensure compatibility with newer PHP versions. 

// Connect to the database using mysqli
$mysqli = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Check connection
if ($mysqli->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $mysqli->connect_error);
}

// Perform a query using prepared statements
$stmt = $mysqli->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ?");
$stmt->bind_param("s", $username);
$username = "john_doe";
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->get_result();

// Fetch results
while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
    // Process the data
}

// Close the connection
$mysqli->close();

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