What best practice should be followed when selecting data from a table in PHP?

When selecting data from a table in PHP, it is best practice to use prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks and ensure the security of your application. Prepared statements separate the SQL query from the user input, which helps to prevent malicious code from being injected into the query. Here is an example of how to select data from a table using prepared statements in PHP:

<?php
// Establish a connection to the database
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password');

// Prepare a SQL query using a placeholder for the user input
$stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username');

// Bind the user input to the placeholder
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $_POST['username']);

// Execute the query
$stmt->execute();

// Fetch the results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();

// Loop through the results and do something with them
foreach ($results as $row) {
    echo $row['username'] . '<br>';
}
?>