Where in the PHP code should the validation for form fields be implemented for a registration form?

When implementing validation for form fields in a registration form, it is best practice to perform the validation on the server-side before processing the form data. This ensures that the data submitted by the user meets the required criteria and helps prevent malicious input. The validation should be implemented in the PHP code that processes the form submission, typically at the beginning of the script before any database operations are performed.

// Validate form fields
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
    $username = $_POST["username"];
    $email = $_POST["email"];
    
    // Check if username is not empty
    if (empty($username)) {
        $errors[] = "Username is required.";
    }
    
    // Check if email is valid
    if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
        $errors[] = "Invalid email format.";
    }
    
    // If there are no errors, proceed with registration
    if (empty($errors)) {
        // Process form data and store in database
    } else {
        // Display errors to the user
        foreach ($errors as $error) {
            echo $error . "<br>";
        }
    }
}