What are the potential pitfalls of using backticks for column names in SQL queries in PHP, and what alternatives can be considered for better portability?

Using backticks for column names in SQL queries in PHP can lead to issues when trying to run the same queries on different database systems that do not support backticks for identifiers. To ensure better portability, it is recommended to use double quotes or square brackets to encapsulate column names in SQL queries.

// Example of using double quotes for column names in SQL queries
$query = "SELECT `column_name` FROM `table_name` WHERE `column_name` = 'value'";