What best practice should be followed when naming columns in a MySQL database to avoid syntax errors in PHP queries?

When naming columns in a MySQL database, it is best practice to avoid using reserved keywords or special characters that can cause syntax errors in PHP queries. To ensure compatibility and prevent errors, it is recommended to use alphanumeric characters and underscores for column names.

// Example of creating a table with column names that follow best practices
$sql = "CREATE TABLE users (
    user_id INT PRIMARY KEY,
    username VARCHAR(50),
    email VARCHAR(50)
)";