What are some best practices for handling and storing names in a database in PHP, especially in the context of a browser game?

When handling and storing names in a database in PHP, especially in the context of a browser game, it is important to sanitize and validate user input to prevent SQL injection attacks and ensure data integrity. One best practice is to use prepared statements with parameterized queries to securely insert or update names in the database. Additionally, consider limiting the length of the name field and using proper data types to avoid potential issues with encoding or character sets.

// Assuming $db is your database connection

// Sanitize and validate the user input for the name
$name = filter_var($_POST['name'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);

// Prepare a SQL statement using a prepared statement
$stmt = $db->prepare("INSERT INTO players (name) VALUES (?)");
$stmt->bind_param("s", $name);

// Execute the statement to insert the name into the database
$stmt->execute();

// Close the statement and database connection
$stmt->close();
$db->close();