What steps can be taken to prevent and quickly identify syntax errors in SQL statements when using PHP for database operations?

Syntax errors in SQL statements can be prevented and quickly identified by using prepared statements in PHP. Prepared statements separate the SQL query from the user input, which helps prevent SQL injection attacks and ensures that the syntax of the SQL statement is correct. Additionally, using error handling in PHP can help quickly identify any syntax errors that may occur during database operations.

// Using prepared statements to prevent syntax errors in SQL statements
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username");
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username);
$stmt->execute();

// Error handling to quickly identify syntax errors
if (!$stmt) {
    echo "\nPDO::errorInfo():\n";
    print_r($pdo->errorInfo());
}