Why is it recommended to avoid using the mysql_ extension in PHP and switch to PDO or mysqli, especially when dealing with database interactions involving decimal values?

The mysql_ extension in PHP is deprecated and no longer maintained, making it vulnerable to security risks and lacking in modern features. It is recommended to switch to PDO or mysqli for database interactions, especially when dealing with decimal values, as these extensions offer better support for handling such data types and provide prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks.

// Using PDO to connect to a MySQL database and fetch decimal values
$dsn = 'mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase';
$username = 'username';
$password = 'password';

try {
    $pdo = new PDO($dsn, $username, $password);
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT decimal_column FROM mytable WHERE id = :id');
    $stmt->bindParam(':id', $id, PDO::PARAM_INT);
    $stmt->execute();
    
    $result = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
    $decimalValue = $result['decimal_column'];
    
    // Use $decimalValue as needed
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo 'Error: ' . $e->getMessage();
}