What are the best practices for querying and iterating through database records in PHP to avoid errors and optimize performance?

When querying and iterating through database records in PHP, it's important to use prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks and sanitize user input. Additionally, fetching records in batches rather than all at once can help optimize performance, especially when dealing with large datasets. Lastly, closing the database connection after use can prevent resource leaks and improve overall efficiency.

// Example of querying and iterating through database records in PHP using prepared statements and fetching records in batches

// Establish database connection
$pdo = new PDO("mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase", "username", "password");

// Prepare and execute query
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM mytable WHERE column = :value");
$stmt->execute(['value' => $someValue]);

// Fetch records in batches
while ($row = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC)) {
    // Process each record
    // e.g. echo $row['column'];
}

// Close the database connection
$pdo = null;