Why is it important to specify the fields needed in a database query rather than using "SELECT *"?

Specifying the fields needed in a database query is important because using "SELECT *" can retrieve unnecessary data, leading to increased load on the database server and slower query performance. By only selecting the specific fields required for the task, you can optimize the query and improve efficiency. Additionally, specifying fields can also help prevent potential security risks such as exposing sensitive information unintentionally. 

// Specify the fields needed in the database query
$query = "SELECT field1, field2, field3 FROM table_name WHERE condition = 'value'";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

// Process the query result
if ($result) {
    while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
        // Process the data
    }
} else {
    echo "Error: " . mysqli_error($connection);
}

Keywords

PHP database query SELECT statement performance data retrieval

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