What is the purpose of using mysql_error() in a PHP query?

The purpose of using mysql_error() in a PHP query is to retrieve the error message generated by the most recent MySQL operation. This can be useful for debugging and troubleshooting any issues that may arise during database interactions.

// Perform a MySQL query
$result = mysqli_query($conn, "SELECT * FROM users");

// Check for errors
if (!$result) {
    // If an error occurred, retrieve the error message
    echo "Error: " . mysqli_error($conn);
} else {
    // Process the query result
    while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
        // Do something with the data
    }
}

// Free the result set
mysqli_free_result($result);