What are the benefits of using PDO::FETCH_ASSOC over PDO::FETCH_BOTH in PHP?

When using PDO to fetch data from a database in PHP, it is often beneficial to use PDO::FETCH_ASSOC over PDO::FETCH_BOTH. This is because PDO::FETCH_ASSOC fetches each row as an associative array, where the keys are the column names, making it easier to access specific columns by name. On the other hand, PDO::FETCH_BOTH fetches each row as both an associative and numeric array, which can lead to ambiguity and potential conflicts when accessing data. 

// Example code using PDO::FETCH_ASSOC
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users");
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

// Accessing data by column name
echo $result['username'];
echo $result['email'];

Keywords

PDO FETCH_ASSOC FETCH_BOTH PHP benefits

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