In what situations should PHP developers consider using prepared statements and parameterized queries for database interactions?

PHP developers should consider using prepared statements and parameterized queries whenever they are interacting with a database and need to execute SQL queries that contain user input. This is important to prevent SQL injection attacks, where malicious users can manipulate input data to execute unauthorized SQL commands. Prepared statements separate the SQL query from the user input, ensuring that input data is treated as data and not as part of the SQL command. 

// Using prepared statements and parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection

// Establish a database connection
$pdo = new PDO("mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase", "username", "password");

// Prepare a SQL statement with a placeholder for user input
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username");

// Bind the user input to the placeholder
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $_POST['username']);

// Execute the query
$stmt->execute();

// Fetch the results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();

// Process the results
foreach ($results as $row) {
    echo $row['username'] . "<br>";
}

Keywords

PHP prepared statements parameterized queries database interactions security.

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