What are the best practices for structuring SQL queries in PHP to prevent SQL injection vulnerabilities?
To prevent SQL injection vulnerabilities in PHP, it is best practice to use prepared statements with parameterized queries. This helps separate SQL code from user input, preventing malicious input from being executed as SQL commands.
// Establish a database connection
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password');
// Prepare a SQL statement with placeholders
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username');
// Bind parameters to the placeholders
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $_POST['username']);
// Execute the query
$stmt->execute();
// Fetch the results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();