How does setting the character encoding in the database connection differ from setting it in the HTTP header for PHP applications?

Setting the character encoding in the database connection ensures that data is stored and retrieved using the correct character set, while setting it in the HTTP header specifies the character encoding for the browser to interpret the response correctly. To ensure consistency and avoid encoding issues, it is recommended to set the character encoding in both the database connection and the HTTP header.

// Set character encoding in the database connection
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password', array(PDO::MYSQL_ATTR_INIT_COMMAND => "SET NAMES utf8"));

// Set character encoding in the HTTP header
header('Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8');