What are the advantages of using MySQL REPLACE INTO for data insertion compared to other methods in PHP?

When inserting data into a MySQL database using PHP, the REPLACE INTO statement can be advantageous because it allows you to insert a new row into a table or replace an existing row if a unique key constraint is violated. This can simplify the process of updating existing data without needing to first check if a record already exists before deciding whether to insert or update.

<?php
// Connect to MySQL database
$connection = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Define data to insert or replace
$id = 1;
$name = "John Doe";
$email = "john.doe@example.com";

// Use REPLACE INTO statement to insert or update data
$query = "REPLACE INTO users (id, name, email) VALUES ($id, '$name', '$email')";
$connection->query($query);

// Close database connection
$connection->close();
?>