What are some best practices for handling user input validation and form submission in PHP to ensure data integrity in the database?

To ensure data integrity in the database, it is crucial to properly validate user input before submitting it. This can be achieved by using PHP functions like filter_var() or regular expressions to sanitize and validate input data. Additionally, using prepared statements with parameterized queries can help prevent SQL injection attacks and ensure secure data handling.

// Example of handling user input validation and form submission in PHP

// Validate and sanitize user input
$name = filter_var($_POST['name'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
$email = filter_var($_POST['email'], FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL);

// Prepare and execute a parameterized query
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (:name, :email)");
$stmt->bindParam(':name', $name);
$stmt->bindParam(':email', $email);
$stmt->execute();