What is the best practice for handling date comparisons in MySQL queries within PHP?

When comparing dates in MySQL queries within PHP, it is best practice to use the DATE_FORMAT function to ensure that the dates are formatted in a consistent manner for accurate comparison. This function allows you to format the date in a specific way that can be easily compared in MySQL queries.

// Example of comparing dates in MySQL queries using DATE_FORMAT function
$date = '2022-05-15';
$query = "SELECT * FROM table WHERE DATE_FORMAT(date_column, '%Y-%m-%d') = DATE_FORMAT('$date', '%Y-%m-%d')";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Loop through the results
while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
    // Handle each row as needed
}