What is the correct way to compare an IP address in a MySQL query using PHP?

When comparing an IP address in a MySQL query using PHP, it is important to use the INET_ATON() function to convert the IP address to a numerical value for accurate comparison. This function converts the IP address into a numeric value that can be compared in the query.

// Assuming $ipAddress is the IP address you want to compare against in your query

$ipAddressNumeric = ip2long($ipAddress);

$query = "SELECT * FROM table_name WHERE INET_ATON(ip_column) = $ipAddressNumeric";

// Execute the query and fetch the results