What best practice should be followed when handling MySQL queries in PHP to avoid errors like the one mentioned in the thread?

The best practice to avoid errors like the one mentioned in the thread is to use prepared statements with parameterized queries in PHP when interacting with MySQL databases. This helps prevent SQL injection attacks and ensures that data is properly sanitized before being executed.

// Establish a connection to the MySQL database
$mysqli = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Check for connection errors
if ($mysqli->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $mysqli->connect_error);
}

// Prepare a parameterized query
$stmt = $mysqli->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ?");
$stmt->bind_param("s", $username);

// Set the parameter values and execute the query
$username = "example_user";
$stmt->execute();

// Bind the result variables
$stmt->bind_result($user_id, $username, $email);

// Fetch the results
while ($stmt->fetch()) {
    echo "User ID: $user_id, Username: $username, Email: $email <br>";
}

// Close the statement and connection
$stmt->close();
$mysqli->close();