What potential errors or pitfalls should be considered when using mysql_error() in PHP?

When using mysql_error() in PHP, it is important to be aware that it may expose sensitive information about your database, such as table names or column names, to users in case of an error. This can pose a security risk as attackers could potentially use this information to exploit your database. To mitigate this risk, it is recommended to avoid displaying mysql_error() messages directly to users in a production environment. Instead, you can log the error messages for debugging purposes and display a generic error message to users.

// Example of logging mysql errors without exposing sensitive information to users
$query = "SELECT * FROM users";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

if(!$result) {
    error_log("MySQL error: " . mysqli_error($connection));
    echo "An error occurred. Please try again later.";
}