How important is it to match the MySQL server version with the PHP/MySQL client version when connecting to a database in PHP?

It is important to match the MySQL server version with the PHP/MySQL client version when connecting to a database in PHP to ensure compatibility and avoid potential issues with queries and data retrieval. To solve this, you can check the MySQL server version and set it in the PHP script to establish a successful connection.

// Get the MySQL server version
$mysqli = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password");
$server_version = $mysqli->server_info;

// Set the MySQL server version in the PHP script
$mysqli = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database", null, null, MYSQLI_CLIENT_FOUND_ROWS);
$mysqli->query("SET @@global.sql_mode = 'NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION'");
$mysqli->query("SET @@session.sql_mode = 'NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION'");