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    | mysql_real_escape_string    (PHP 4 >= 4.3.0, PHP 5) mysql_real_escape_string -- Escapes special characters in a string for use in a SQL statementDescriptionstring mysql_real_escape_string  ( string unescaped_string [, resource link_identifier] ) 
   Escapes special characters in the unescaped_string, 
   taking into account the current character set of the connection so that it 
   is safe to place it in a mysql_query(). If binary data 
   is to be inserted, this function must be used.
   
   mysql_real_escape_string() calls MySQL's library function
   mysql_real_escape_string, which prepends backslashes to the following characters:
   \x00, \n,
   \r, \, ',
   " and \x1a.
   
   This function must always (with few exceptions) be used to make data
   safe before sending a query to MySQL.
  Parameters
    unescaped_string
       The string that is to be escaped.
      
link_identifierThe MySQL connection. If the 
link identifier is not specified, the last link opened by 
mysql_connect() is assumed. If no such link is found, it
will try to create one as if mysql_connect() was called
with no arguments. If by chance no connection is found or established, an
E_WARNING level warning is generated.
Return Values
   Returns the escaped string, or FALSE on error.
  Examples
    | Example 1. Simple mysql_real_escape_string() example | <?php
// Connect
$link = mysql_connect('mysql_host', 'mysql_user', 'mysql_password')
    OR die(mysql_error());
// Query
$query = sprintf("SELECT * FROM users WHERE user='%s' AND password='%s'",
            mysql_real_escape_string($user),
            mysql_real_escape_string($password));
?> | 
 | 
 
    | Example 2. An example SQL Injection Attack | <?php
// Query database to check if there are any matching users
$query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE user='{$_POST['username']}' AND password='{$_POST['password']}'";
mysql_query($query);
// We didn't check $_POST['password'], it could be anything the user wanted! For example:
$_POST['username'] = 'aidan';
$_POST['password'] = "' OR ''='";
// This means the query sent to MySQL would be:
echo $query;
?> | 
 
      The query sent to MySQL:
      | SELECT * FROM users WHERE user='aidan' AND password='' OR ''='' | 
 
     This would allow anyone to log in without a valid password.
     | 
 
    | Example 3. A "Best Practice" query 
     Using mysql_real_escape_string() around each variable
     prevents SQL Injection. This example demonstrates the "best practice"
     method for querying a database, independent of the
     Magic Quotes setting.
     | <?php
// Quote variable to make safe
function quote_smart($value)
{
    // Stripslashes
    if (get_magic_quotes_gpc()) {
        $value = stripslashes($value);
    }
    // Quote if not a number or a numeric string
    if (!is_numeric($value)) {
        $value = "'" . mysql_real_escape_string($value) . "'";
    }
    return $value;
}
// Connect
$link = mysql_connect('mysql_host', 'mysql_user', 'mysql_password')
    OR die(mysql_error());
// Make a safe query
$query = sprintf("SELECT * FROM users WHERE user=%s AND password=%s",
            quote_smart($_POST['username']),
            quote_smart($_POST['password']));
mysql_query($query);
?> | 
 
     The query will now execute correctly, and SQL Injection attacks will not work.
     | 
NotesNote: 
    A MySQL connection is required before using 
    mysql_real_escape_string() otherwise an error of
    level E_WARNING is generated, and FALSE is 
    returned. If link_identifier isn't defined, the
    last MySQL connection is used.
   
Note: 
    If magic_quotes_gpc is enabled,
    first apply stripslashes() to the data. Using this function
    on data which has already been escaped will escape the data twice.
   
Note: 
    mysql_real_escape_string() does not escape
    % and _. These are wildcards in
    MySQL if combined with LIKE, GRANT,
    or REVOKE.
   
 
 
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