What steps should be taken to transition from using mysql_* functions to mysqli in PHP, and where can reliable documentation be found for this process?

To transition from using mysql_* functions to mysqli in PHP, you should update your code to use the mysqli functions instead. This involves changing the function names and updating the syntax to be compatible with mysqli. Reliable documentation for this process can be found on the official PHP website or in the PHP manual.

// Before transitioning:
$link = mysql_connect('localhost', 'username', 'password');
mysql_select_db('database', $link);
$result = mysql_query('SELECT * FROM table', $link);

// After transitioning to mysqli:
$link = mysqli_connect('localhost', 'username', 'password', 'database');
$result = mysqli_query($link, 'SELECT * FROM table');