What are the best practices for validating and managing text length in database fields?

When storing text in database fields, it is important to validate and manage the text length to prevent data truncation or overflow errors. One common approach is to set a maximum character limit for the field and validate the input text against this limit before inserting it into the database. Additionally, it is advisable to sanitize the input to prevent any potential SQL injection attacks.

// Validate and manage text length in database fields
$max_length = 255; // Set maximum character limit for the field

$input_text = $_POST['input_text']; // Get input text from form submission

if(strlen($input_text) > $max_length) {
    // Text length exceeds maximum limit, handle error
    echo "Error: Text length exceeds maximum limit of $max_length characters.";
} else {
    // Sanitize input text to prevent SQL injection
    $sanitized_text = mysqli_real_escape_string($connection, $input_text); // Assuming $connection is the database connection

    // Insert sanitized text into database
    $query = "INSERT INTO table_name (text_field) VALUES ('$sanitized_text')";
    mysqli_query($connection, $query);
}