Why is it important to use mysql_real_escape_string() instead of mysql_escape_string() for data sanitization in PHP?

It is important to use mysql_real_escape_string() instead of mysql_escape_string() for data sanitization in PHP because mysql_real_escape_string() is specifically designed to escape characters in a way that is safe for use in MySQL queries, while mysql_escape_string() may not provide adequate protection against SQL injection attacks. Using mysql_real_escape_string() helps prevent malicious users from injecting harmful code into your database queries.

// Using mysql_real_escape_string() for data sanitization
$unsafe_data = $_POST['unsafe_data'];
$safe_data = mysql_real_escape_string($unsafe_data);
$query = "INSERT INTO table_name (column_name) VALUES ('$safe_data')";
$result = mysql_query($query);