How can using SELECT * in SQL queries impact PHP code performance and reliability?

Using SELECT * in SQL queries can impact PHP code performance and reliability because it retrieves all columns from a table, even if not all columns are needed. This can result in unnecessary data transfer between the database and PHP, leading to slower query execution and increased memory usage. To improve performance and reliability, it is recommended to explicitly specify the columns needed in the SELECT statement.

// Specify the columns needed in the SQL query instead of using SELECT *
$sql = "SELECT column1, column2, column3 FROM table_name WHERE condition";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $sql);

if (mysqli_num_rows($result) > 0) {
    while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
        // Process the retrieved data
    }
} else {
    echo "No results found";
}