What are common pitfalls when using PHP for web development?

Common pitfalls when using PHP for web development include not sanitizing user input, which can lead to security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection or cross-site scripting attacks. To prevent this, always validate and sanitize user input before using it in your code. Another common pitfall is not properly handling errors, which can make debugging more difficult and lead to unexpected behavior in your application. Make sure to use error handling techniques such as try-catch blocks to gracefully handle errors and provide meaningful error messages to users. Lastly, using outdated or deprecated functions and libraries can also cause issues in your PHP code. Stay up to date with the latest PHP versions and best practices to avoid compatibility issues and security vulnerabilities. 

// Example of sanitizing user input
$user_input = $_POST['user_input'];
$clean_input = filter_var($user_input, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);

// Example of error handling with try-catch block
try {
    // Code that may throw an exception
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo "An error occurred: " . $e->getMessage();
}

// Example of using updated PHP functions
// Use mysqli or PDO for database interactions instead of mysql functions
$mysqli = new mysqli($host, $username, $password, $database);
if ($mysqli->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $mysqli->connect_error);
}

Keywords

SQL injection cross-site scripting insecure file uploads session hijacking outdated PHP versions

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