In the given PHP code, what potential pitfalls or errors can occur when using the bind_param function with the LIKE operator in the SQL query?

When using the bind_param function with the LIKE operator in an SQL query, the wildcard characters (%) need to be included in the parameter value itself rather than directly in the query string. This is because bind_param treats the parameter value as a string literal and does not interpret it as part of the query. To solve this issue, you can concatenate the wildcard characters with the parameter value before binding it to the query. 

// Assuming $searchTerm contains the search term input by the user
$searchTerm = '%'.$searchTerm.'%';

$stmt = $mysqli->prepare("SELECT * FROM table WHERE column LIKE ?");
$stmt->bind_param("s", $searchTerm);
$stmt->execute();

Keywords

PHP bind_param LIKE operator SQL query errors

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