Is it advisable to use "SELECT *" in SQL queries when retrieving data from a database in PHP applications?

Using "SELECT *" in SQL queries is generally not advisable in PHP applications as it can lead to performance issues and potential security vulnerabilities. It's better to explicitly list the columns you want to retrieve to improve query performance and reduce the risk of exposing sensitive data. By specifying the columns, you also make your code more maintainable and easier to understand. 

// Explicitly list the columns you want to retrieve instead of using SELECT *
$sql = "SELECT column1, column2, column3 FROM your_table";
$result = $conn->query($sql);

if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
    // Output data
    while($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
        echo "Column1: " . $row["column1"]. " - Column2: " . $row["column2"]. " - Column3: " . $row["column3"]. "<br>";
    }
} else {
    echo "0 results";
}

Keywords

SQL queries SELECT * database retrieval PHP applications performance optimization

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