How can the use of mysql_query() with or die("error message") improve error handling in PHP scripts?

Using mysql_query() with or die("error message") improves error handling in PHP scripts by immediately halting the script execution if the query fails, displaying a custom error message. This helps developers quickly identify and troubleshoot issues with database queries, making debugging more efficient.

$query = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM table") or die("Query failed: " . mysql_error());
// Continue script execution after successful query