What are the best practices for handling data types when inserting values into a MySQL database using PHP?

When inserting values into a MySQL database using PHP, it is important to properly handle data types to ensure data integrity and prevent SQL injection attacks. To do this, you should use prepared statements with parameterized queries to bind variables of the correct data type. This helps to automatically sanitize input and ensure that the data being inserted matches the expected data type in the database.

// Establish a database connection
$mysqli = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Prepare a SQL statement with a parameterized query
$stmt = $mysqli->prepare("INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2) VALUES (?, ?)");

// Bind parameters with the correct data types
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $value1, $value2);

// Set the values of the parameters
$value1 = "string_value";
$value2 = 123;

// Execute the statement
$stmt->execute();

// Close the statement and database connection
$stmt->close();
$mysqli->close();