I have had some requests to write some blogs on the basics of using PHP and MySQL together.  This will not be a series for the experienced as it will start at a level where I will go into a lot of details but expect very few prerequisites from the reader.  If this is not you, please move on. If it is you and you read something you do not understand, please contact me to show me where I assumed too much.

PHP and MySQL are both in their mid twenties and both vital in the worlds of developers.  With the big improvements in PHP 7 and MySQL 8, I have found a lot of developers flocking to both but stymied by the examples they see as their are many details not explained. So let's get to the explaining!
1. Use the latest software
If you are not using PHP 7.2 or 7.3 (or maybe 7.1) then you are missing out in features and performance.  The PHP 5.x series is deprecated, no longer support, and …