How can the use of mysqli or PDO in PHP improve the security of database queries?

Using mysqli or PDO in PHP can improve the security of database queries by allowing for the use of prepared statements. Prepared statements separate SQL logic from user input, preventing SQL injection attacks. Additionally, both mysqli and PDO provide parameterized queries, which sanitize user input before executing the query.

// Using PDO to improve security of database queries
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password');

// Prepare a SQL statement with placeholders
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username');

// Bind parameters to the placeholders
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username);

// Execute the query
$stmt->execute();

// Fetch the results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();