Stop Wasting Primary Keys: Optimizing PHP 'Delete then Insert' with Efficient Upserts in MySQL

Are you still using the 'DELETE then INSERT' pattern to update database records? This common practice not only rapidly consumes valuable auto-incrementing primary keys but also introduces unnecessary performance overhead. This article delves into the drawbacks of this pattern and provides a practical guide for PHP and MySQL, teaching you how to implement efficient and elegant 'Upsert' (update or insert) operations using the `INSERT ... ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE` statement, significantly improving application performance and conserving database resources.