How to Escape Apostrophes When Inserting Data in an SQL INSERT Query?

IssueInsertingDataWithApostrophesError

Attempts to insert data containing apostrophes (single quotes) using an SQL INSERT query fail, triggering an SQL syntax error due to the special character handling in MySQL.

Solution

To resolve this issue, escape the apostrophes with backslashes in the inserted data. The backslash acts as an escape character in SQL, indicating that the following character should be treated literally. By escaping the apostrophes, you instruct MySQL to interpret them as part of the data value rather than special characters that terminate the string.

For example, instead of using:

INSERT INTO table_name (column_name) VALUES ('Kellog's');

Use:

INSERT INTO table_name (column_name) VALUES ('Kellogg\'s');

This tells MySQL to insert the entire string 'Kellogg's' as the value for the column 'column_name.'

Additional Considerations

• Using an Escape Function: Some programming languages provide functions specifically designed for escaping special characters. In PHP, for instance, you can use the mysql_real_escape_string() function to automatically escape apostrophes and other special characters in data values before inserting them into SQL queries.
• Avoiding Manual Escaping: While manually escaping apostrophes may work in some cases, it's generally considered good practice to use an escape function or a parameterized query system to prevent SQL injection attacks.

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