mysqli or PDO - what are the pros and cons?
mysqli and PDO are both PHP extensions used for interacting with databases.
mysqli (MySQL Improved) is specifically designed for MySQL databases and offers an object-oriented interface in addition to the traditional procedural interface. It also supports prepared statements, which can help prevent SQL injection attacks.
PDO (PHP Data Objects) is a more generic extension that provides a consistent interface for interacting with different types of databases (not just MySQL), using a variety of database drivers. It also supports prepared statements and offers an object-oriented interface.
Some of the pros of using mysqli include:
- It is specifically designed for MySQL databases and may offer better performance when working with large amounts of data.
- It has a procedural and an object-oriented interface.
Some of the cons of using mysqli include:
- It only works with MySQL databases and requires a separate extension for other types of databases.
- It does not provide a consistent interface for working with different types of databases.
Some of the pros of using PDO include:
- It provides a consistent interface for working with different types of databases using a variety of database drivers.
- It supports prepared statements and offers an object-oriented interface.
Some of the cons of using PDO include:
- It may not offer the best performance when working with large amounts of data.
- It doesn't have procedural interface
In general, if you're only working with MySQL databases and performance is a critical concern, you might lean towards using mysqli, but if you need to work with multiple types of databases or want a consistent interface, PDO might be a better choice.