What potential pitfalls should be considered when using dynamic table names in PHP?

When using dynamic table names in PHP, potential pitfalls to consider include SQL injection vulnerabilities if the table names are not properly sanitized, difficulty in debugging and maintaining code due to dynamic nature, and increased complexity in writing queries. To mitigate these risks, always sanitize user input to prevent SQL injection attacks, use prepared statements for database queries, and ensure proper error handling to catch any issues that may arise. 

// Example of using prepared statements with dynamic table names
$tableName = $_POST['table_name']; // Assuming this is user input

// Sanitize the table name to prevent SQL injection
$cleanTableName = filter_var($tableName, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);

// Prepare the SQL query with a placeholder for the table name
$query = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM $cleanTableName WHERE id = :id");

// Bind parameters and execute the query
$query->bindParam(':id', $id);
$query->execute();

// Fetch results
$results = $query->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

Keywords

dynamic table names PHP SQL injection security vulnerabilities prepared statements

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