What are some common mistakes made by beginners when using PHP, as seen in the provided forum thread?

Common mistakes made by beginners when using PHP include not properly escaping user input, not using proper error handling techniques, and not understanding the difference between single and double quotes in PHP. To properly escape user input, beginners should use functions like mysqli_real_escape_string() or prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks. Error handling techniques such as try-catch blocks or using functions like error_reporting() can help identify and resolve issues in the code. Understanding that single quotes and double quotes behave differently in PHP can prevent syntax errors and unexpected behavior in the code.

// Example of properly escaping user input using mysqli_real_escape_string
$user_input = mysqli_real_escape_string($connection, $_POST['user_input']);

// Example of error handling using try-catch blocks
try {
    // code that may throw an exception
} catch (Exception $e) {
    // handle the exception
}

// Example of using double quotes to interpolate variables in a string
$name = "John";
echo "Hello, $name!";