What is the significance of properly defining return values in PHP functions that handle MySQL queries?

Properly defining return values in PHP functions that handle MySQL queries is important because it allows for better error handling and makes the code more robust. By clearly defining the return values, you can easily identify if the query was successful or if there was an error, allowing you to handle each case accordingly.

function executeQuery($query) {
    // Perform MySQL query
    $result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

    if ($result) {
        // Query was successful
        return $result;
    } else {
        // Query failed
        return false;
    }
}