In PHP, what are some common mistakes to avoid when trying to display random data records from a database?

One common mistake when trying to display random data records from a database in PHP is not properly randomizing the selection. To avoid this, you should use the RAND() function in your SQL query to fetch random records. Additionally, make sure to limit the number of records fetched to avoid performance issues with large datasets. 

// Connect to the database
$connection = new mysqli('localhost', 'username', 'password', 'database_name');

// Check connection
if ($connection->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $connection->connect_error);
}

// Fetch random data records from the database
$query = "SELECT * FROM table_name ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT 5";
$result = $connection->query($query);

// Display the random data records
if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
    while($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
        echo "ID: " . $row["id"] . " - Name: " . $row["name"] . "<br>";
    }
} else {
    echo "0 results";
}

// Close the connection
$connection->close();

Keywords

SQL injection rand() function ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT clause data validation

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