What are the potential pitfalls of using the mysql_* extension in PHP for database connections and queries?

Using the mysql_* extension in PHP for database connections and queries is discouraged due to security vulnerabilities and deprecated status. It is recommended to switch to mysqli or PDO extensions for improved security and future compatibility.

// Using mysqli extension for database connection
$mysqli = new mysqli('localhost', 'username', 'password', 'database_name');
if ($mysqli->connect_error) {
    die('Connection failed: ' . $mysqli->connect_error);
}