What are the drawbacks of using the outdated mysql_ extension in PHP, as mentioned in the forum thread?

The main drawbacks of using the outdated mysql_ extension in PHP include security vulnerabilities, lack of support for newer MySQL features, and compatibility issues with newer versions of PHP. To solve this issue, it is recommended to switch to either the mysqli or PDO extension, which offer improved security, support for modern MySQL features, and better compatibility with PHP versions.

// Connect to MySQL using the mysqli extension
$mysqli = new mysqli('localhost', 'username', 'password', 'database');

// Check connection
if ($mysqli->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $mysqli->connect_error);
}

// Perform a query
$result = $mysqli->query("SELECT * FROM table");

// Fetch data
while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
    echo $row['column'] . "<br>";
}

// Close connection
$mysqli->close();