What best practices should be followed when handling image data in PHP and MySQL to avoid errors and improve performance?

When handling image data in PHP and MySQL, it is important to properly sanitize and validate the data to prevent SQL injection attacks and other security vulnerabilities. Additionally, storing images as file paths in the database rather than directly in the database can improve performance and reduce database size. Finally, using prepared statements when interacting with the database can help prevent errors and improve overall performance.

// Example of sanitizing and validating image data before storing in MySQL
$image = $_FILES['image']['tmp_name'];
$uploadPath = 'uploads/';
$fileName = basename($_FILES['image']['name']);
$targetPath = $uploadPath . $fileName;

if (move_uploaded_file($image, $targetPath)) {
    // Validate and sanitize other input data
    $title = filter_var($_POST['title'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
    
    // Insert image data into MySQL using prepared statement
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO images (title, path) VALUES (:title, :path)");
    $stmt->bindParam(':title', $title);
    $stmt->bindParam(':path', $targetPath);
    $stmt->execute();
} else {
    echo "Failed to upload image.";
}