What are the advantages of using mysqli_ or PDO instead of mysql_ functions in PHP?

Using mysqli_ or PDO instead of mysql_ functions in PHP is recommended because mysql_ functions are deprecated as of PHP 5.5.0 and removed in PHP 7.0.0. This means that using mysql_ functions can lead to security vulnerabilities and compatibility issues with newer PHP versions. mysqli_ and PDO offer more secure and flexible ways to interact with databases, providing features like prepared statements and parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection attacks.

// Using mysqli to connect to a database
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "database";

// Create connection
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}
echo "Connected successfully";