What is a potential issue with using SELECT * in a PHP query and why should it be avoided?

Using SELECT * in a PHP query can lead to performance issues and potential security vulnerabilities. It is recommended to explicitly specify the columns you want to retrieve from the database to improve performance and reduce the risk of exposing sensitive data. By listing the specific columns, you can also make your code more maintainable and easier to understand. 

// Specify the columns you want to retrieve instead of using SELECT *
$query = "SELECT column1, column2, column3 FROM table_name";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Fetch and process the results
while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
    // Process the data as needed
}

Keywords

SELECT * PHP query performance security maintenance

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