What best practices should be followed when structuring PHP scripts to handle user interactions and data manipulation in a web application like the one described in the forum thread?

When structuring PHP scripts to handle user interactions and data manipulation in a web application, it is best practice to separate concerns by using a Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. This helps in organizing code, improving maintainability, and promoting code reusability. Additionally, sanitizing user input to prevent SQL injection attacks and validating data before processing it are essential steps to ensure data integrity and security.

// Example of a simple MVC structure in PHP

// Model (data manipulation)
class User {
    public function getUserById($userId) {
        // Database query to retrieve user data
    }
    
    public function updateUser($userData) {
        // Database query to update user data
    }
}

// View (user interface)
class UserView {
    public function displayUserInfo($userData) {
        // Display user information in HTML format
    }
}

// Controller (user interactions)
class UserController {
    public function showUser($userId) {
        $userModel = new User();
        $userData = $userModel->getUserById($userId);
        
        $userView = new UserView();
        $userView->displayUserInfo($userData);
    }
    
    public function updateUser($userData) {
        $userModel = new User();
        $userModel->updateUser($userData);
    }
}

// Usage
$controller = new UserController();
$controller->showUser(1); // Display user information
$controller->updateUser(['id' => 1, 'name' => 'John Doe']); // Update user information