What potential issues could arise when inserting variables into an existing table in PHP?

One potential issue that could arise when inserting variables into an existing table in PHP is SQL injection. To prevent this, you should always sanitize and validate user input before inserting it into the database. One way to do this is by using prepared statements with parameterized queries, which help protect against SQL injection attacks.

// Assuming $conn is your database connection

// Sanitize and validate user input
$variable1 = mysqli_real_escape_string($conn, $_POST['variable1']);
$variable2 = mysqli_real_escape_string($conn, $_POST['variable2']);

// Prepare SQL statement with parameterized query
$stmt = $conn->prepare("INSERT INTO your_table_name (column1, column2) VALUES (?, ?)");
$stmt->bind_param("ss", $variable1, $variable2);

// Execute the statement
$stmt->execute();

// Close the statement and connection
$stmt->close();
$conn->close();