Why shouldn’t I use mysql_* functions in PHP?

Why shouldn’t I use mysql_* functions in PHP?

“We strongly discourage the use of ‘mysql_*’ functions in PHP and consider them outdated for several important reasons.”

1. Security Vulnerabilities: The ‘mysql_*’ functions do not support modern security practices like prepared statements or parameterized queries. This makes your code vulnerable to SQL injection attacks, which can lead to unauthorized access to your database or data manipulation.
2. Deprecated: The ‘mysql_*’ functions were deprecated as of PHP 5.5 and completely removed in PHP 7.0. This means that if you are using a PHP version 7.0 or higher, your code will not work, and you’ll receive fatal errors.
3. Lack of Features: The ‘mysql_*’ functions lack many of the features and capabilities provided by newer database extensions like MySQLi (MySQL Improved) and PDO (PHP Data Objects). These newer extensions offer support for prepared statements, transactions, and multiple database backends, making your code more robust and flexible.
4. Performance: MySQLi and PDO provide better performance optimizations and support for asynchronous queries, which can result in improved application performance compared to ‘mysql_*’ functions.
5. Maintainability: Code written using ‘mysql_*’ functions can be harder to maintain and extend because it does not follow modern PHP coding standards and practices. Using deprecated functions can lead to difficulties when upgrading to newer PHP versions.
6. Community and Support: The PHP community and the official PHP documentation actively promote the use of MySQLi and PDO, providing better resources, documentation, and support for developers. Using deprecated functions isolates you from this valuable support network.

Switching to MySQLi or PDO will modernize your PHP database interactions, so do it now. Here’s a brief overview of how to use each of these alternatives:

MySQLi:

$mysqli = new mysqli("hostname", "username", "password", "database");

if ($mysqli->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $mysqli->connect_error);
}

$sql = "SELECT * FROM table";
$result = $mysqli->query($sql);

if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
    while ($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
        // Process the data
    }
} else {
    echo "No results found";
}

$mysqli->close();

PDO:

try {
    $pdo = new PDO("mysql:host=hostname;dbname=database", "username", "password");
    $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);

    $sql = "SELECT * FROM table";
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare($sql);
    $stmt->execute();

    while ($row = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC)) {
        // Process the data
    }
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $e->getMessage());
}

Switching to MySQLi or PDO not only enhances the security and performance of your code but also ensures its compatibility with modern PHP versions and best practices.