What are the advantages of using PDO with Prepared Statements over mysql_ functions in PHP?
Using PDO with Prepared Statements is preferred over mysql_ functions in PHP because it offers better security by automatically escaping input data to prevent SQL injection attacks. Additionally, PDO is more versatile as it supports multiple database types, making it easier to switch between databases without changing your code. Prepared Statements also improve performance by allowing the database to optimize query execution.
// Using PDO with Prepared Statements
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password');
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username');
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username);
$stmt->execute();
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();
foreach ($results as $row) {
// process the data
}