What are the implications of using SELECT * in SQL queries and how can it impact the readability and performance of PHP code?

Using SELECT * in SQL queries can impact the readability and performance of PHP code because it retrieves all columns from a table, even those that are unnecessary. This can lead to increased data transfer between the database and application, potentially slowing down the query execution. To improve readability and performance, it is recommended to explicitly specify the columns to retrieve in the SELECT statement. 

// Specify the columns to retrieve instead of using SELECT *
$sql = "SELECT column1, column2, column3 FROM table_name";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $sql);

// Process the query result
if (mysqli_num_rows($result) > 0) {
    while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
        // Process each row here
    }
}

Keywords

SELECT * SQL queries readability performance PHP code

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