Why is it recommended to avoid using SELECT * in combination with mysql_fetch_row for database queries in PHP?

Using SELECT * in combination with mysql_fetch_row can lead to potential issues such as inefficient queries, increased memory usage, and unexpected behavior if the table schema changes. It is recommended to explicitly specify the columns you want to retrieve in your SELECT statement to improve performance and make your code more robust.

// Connect to the database
$conn = mysqli_connect("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

// Perform a query to select specific columns
$query = "SELECT column1, column2, column3 FROM your_table";
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $query);

// Fetch rows and process the results
while ($row = mysqli_fetch_row($result)) {
    // Process the row data
}

// Close the connection
mysqli_close($conn);