RE: [PHP] Very Weird Problem Continued

> -----Original Message----- > From: James Hicks [mailto:freedomadvocate@cox.net] > Sent: 15 June 2003 14:44 > > The following variable needs to be escaped before it can be > submitted as an > MySQL query. It seems that the \0 in this string is causing > me the problem. I > have tried several functions in an attempt to escape this > variable. Anybody > got any other suggestions. The resulting string should look like this: > > EBCO\\030774-006\\BUBBLER VALVE > > $variable = "EBCO\030774-006\BUBBLER VALVE"; OK -- because this string is double-quoted, PHP will process any valid \-sequences in it. \030 is a valid sequence representing the character with octal code 030 which, if memory serves me correctly, is [Ctrl-^] -- so that's why that sequence is translated into a "weird character". \B, on the other hand, is *not* a valid sequence, and so is passed into the string unchanged -- so what you end up with in $variable is: EBCO[Ctrl-^]774-006\BUBBLER VALVE Thus, $variable now irrevocably has the weird [Ctrl-^] character in it in place of \030, and no application of addslashes() or any other escaping mechanism is going to change that. To get a single slash at that point into the value you put in $variable, you can do one of two things: either escape the backslash with another backslash: $variable = "EBCO\\030774-006\BUBBLER VALVE"; or use single quotes, so that \ sequences are not translated: $variable = 'EBCO\030774-006\BUBBLER VALVE'; It helps, when you want to know exactly what value you've got into a variable, to print_r() or var_dump() it -- so to show the correctness of what I've just said, you could do the following: $variable = "EBCO\030774-006\BUBBLER VALVE"; var_dump($variable); $variable = "EBCO\\030774-006\BUBBLER VALVE"; var_dump($variable); $variable = 'EBCO\030774-006\BUBBLER VALVE'; var_dump($variable); Because either of the ways I have shown will put the literal sequence \030, rather than [Ctrl-^], into your variable, you can happily addslashes() them to get the desired result. Hope this has shed a little light on your problem. Cheers! Mike --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Ford, Electronic Information Services Adviser, Learning Support Services, Learning & Information Services, JG125, James Graham Building, Leeds Metropolitan University, Beckett Park, LEEDS, LS6 3QS, United Kingdom Email: m.ford@lmu.ac.uk Tel: +44 113 283 2600 extn 4730 Fax: +44 113 283 3211