What are the potential pitfalls of storing multiple values in a single database field in PHP?

Storing multiple values in a single database field in PHP can lead to difficulties in querying and manipulating the data. It can make it harder to search for specific values, update individual values, or maintain data integrity. To solve this issue, it's recommended to normalize the database structure by creating separate tables for related data and establishing proper relationships between them. 

// Create a new table for storing multiple values and establish a relationship with the main table
CREATE TABLE user_values (
    user_id INT,
    value VARCHAR(255),
    FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES users(id)
);

// Insert multiple values for a user
INSERT INTO user_values (user_id, value) VALUES
(1, 'value1'),
(1, 'value2'),
(2, 'value3');

// Query to retrieve all values for a specific user
SELECT value FROM user_values WHERE user_id = 1;

Keywords

SQL injection data normalization JSON encoding serialization data retrieval.

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