What are some best practices for optimizing MySQL queries in PHP to avoid redundant or unnecessary data retrieval?

To optimize MySQL queries in PHP and avoid redundant or unnecessary data retrieval, you can use techniques such as indexing columns used in WHERE clauses, avoiding SELECT * queries, using LIMIT to restrict the number of rows retrieved, and caching query results when possible.

// Example of optimizing MySQL query in PHP
$query = "SELECT column1, column2 FROM table WHERE condition = 'value' LIMIT 10";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Process the query results
while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
    // Do something with the data
}

// Free the result set
mysqli_free_result($result);