In what scenarios should you use the "=" operator instead of the "LIKE" operator in PHP MySQL queries to ensure accurate results?

When you want to perform an exact match in your MySQL query, you should use the "=" operator instead of the "LIKE" operator. This is particularly important when you are searching for precise values such as numbers, dates, or specific strings. Using the "=" operator ensures that you get accurate results without any unexpected matches based on patterns or wildcards. 

// Using the "=" operator for an exact match
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 5";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Fetching results from the query
while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
    // Process the data
}

Keywords

PHP MySQL "=" operator "LIKE" operator accurate results

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