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phpmysqlstringquotesapostrophe

Why string with single quotes raises error when inserted in DB?

My question is: How do you allow single quotes in strings?

For example, I have a form, and a text box. It is set up to allow the user to enter their name. From there, it posts and feeds the data into a database.

I need to be able to allow single quotes (apostrophe) as some people's names have an apostrophe in their names, such as "O'Reilly".

Any suggestions?

Solution

  • Single quotes are not forbidden in any way. I'll simply assume that you got an error inserting it into the database. This is likely due to the omission of mysql_real_escape_string() on input values.

    You will get an SQL error if you try INSERT ... ('O'Reilly') which is the whole point of the SQL escaping functions.

    (This is why magic_quotes were originally introduced: to make SQL work out of the box for newcomers. - Not to make that particularly secure.)