How can PHP developers effectively handle user input that may contain characters that could affect the syntax of SQL queries?

PHP developers can effectively handle user input that may contain characters that could affect the syntax of SQL queries by using prepared statements with parameterized queries. This approach separates the SQL query logic from the user input, preventing SQL injection attacks. By binding user input to parameters in the query, developers can ensure that special characters are properly escaped and sanitized. 

// Establish a database connection
$pdo = new PDO("mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase", "username", "password");

// Prepare a SQL statement with a parameterized query
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username");

// Bind user input to parameters
$username = $_POST['username'];
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username);

// Execute the query
$stmt->execute();

// Fetch results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();

Keywords

SQL injection htmlspecialchars prepared statements mysqli_real_escape_string input validation

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