What are the advantages of using separate tables for user data and relational data in PHP applications, compared to combining them into a single table?

Separating user data and relational data into separate tables in PHP applications offers better organization, improved data integrity, and increased scalability. By keeping user data and relational data in separate tables, it becomes easier to manage and maintain the database structure. This separation also allows for more efficient querying and indexing of data, leading to better performance.

// Example of creating separate tables for user data and relational data in PHP

// Create table for user data
CREATE TABLE users (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    username VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
    email VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
    password VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL
);

// Create table for relational data
CREATE TABLE relational_data (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    user_id INT,
    data VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES users(id)
);