The `addslashes()` function in PHP 7.4 is used to escape special characters in a string by adding backslashes before characters like single quotes (`’`), double quotes (`”`), backslashes (`\`), and NULL characters.
This function is commonly used when inserting data into a database or when dealing with user input to prevent SQL injection or other injection attacks.
Syntax:
addslashes(string $str): string
Example in PHP 7.4:
<?php // Original string $input = "O'Reilly"; // Escaping special characters using addslashes $escaped_input = addslashes($input); echo "Original string: " . $input . "<br>"; echo "Escaped string: " . $escaped_input; ?>
Output:
Original string: O'Reilly Escaped string: O\'Reilly
Explanation:
In this example, the `addslashes()` function adds a backslash before the single quote (`’`) in the string `O’Reilly`, turning it into `O\’Reilly`. This is useful when you want to safely insert this string into a database or process it further without worrying about SQL injection or other issues.