What are the benefits of switching to mysqli_* or PDO for database connections in PHP?

Switching to mysqli_* or PDO for database connections in PHP offers several benefits, including improved security through prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks, better support for transactions, and the ability to work with multiple database types seamlessly. Additionally, both mysqli_* and PDO provide object-oriented interfaces, making it easier to work with databases in a more structured and efficient manner.

// Using PDO for database connection
$dsn = 'mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase';
$username = 'username';
$password = 'password';

try {
    $pdo = new PDO($dsn, $username, $password);
    $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
    echo "Connected successfully";
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection failed: " . $e->getMessage();
}