What are some best practices for integrating a database with PHP in WordPress?

When integrating a database with PHP in WordPress, it is best practice to use the built-in WordPress functions for interacting with the database. This ensures compatibility with WordPress updates and security measures. Additionally, always sanitize user input to prevent SQL injection attacks.

global $wpdb;

// Insert data into the database
$wpdb->insert( 
    'wp_my_table', 
    array( 
        'column1' => 'value1', 
        'column2' => 'value2' 
    ) 
);

// Retrieve data from the database
$results = $wpdb->get_results( 
    "SELECT * FROM wp_my_table WHERE column1 = 'value1'" 
);