What are the potential benefits of implementing a custom function to handle MySQL queries in PHP scripts?

When handling MySQL queries in PHP scripts, implementing a custom function can provide several benefits such as improved code readability, reusability, and security. By encapsulating the query logic within a function, it becomes easier to maintain and modify queries throughout the codebase. Additionally, custom functions can help prevent SQL injection attacks by properly escaping user input before executing queries.

// Custom function to handle MySQL queries in PHP scripts
function executeQuery($query) {
    $connection = mysqli_connect("localhost", "username", "password", "database");
    
    if (!$connection) {
        die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());
    }
    
    $result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);
    
    mysqli_close($connection);
    
    return $result;
}

// Example usage
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = 1";
$result = executeQuery($query);

// Process the query result
if (mysqli_num_rows($result) > 0) {
    while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
        echo "Name: " . $row["name"] . "<br>";
    }
} else {
    echo "No results found.";
}