What is PHP addslashes() Function?
If you want PHP interpreter to treat a character inside a string as a literal character rather than its syntactical meaning, then, escape that character by adding a backslash (\) in front of it.
If you want to add backslashes in front of some predefined characters in a string, use PHP addslashes() function. The predefined characters of which the function adds backslashes are-
- Single quote (‘)
- Doublequote (“)
- Backslash (\)
- NULL
Syntax:
addslashes(string)
Parameters:
The Function has 1 parameter which is required-
string (Required): It specifies a string that the function will escape.
Return Values:
The function returns the escaped string.
Examples:
Example 1: Escaping a single quote
<?php
$string = "They're";
$esc_string = addslashes($string);
echo "After escaping, They're becomes: " . $esc_string;
?>
Output:
After escaping, They're becomes: They\'re
Example 2: Escaping a double quote
<?php
$string = 'Are you learning "PHP"?';
$esc_string = addslashes($string);
echo 'After escaping, Are you learning "PHP"? becomes: ' . $esc_string;
?>
Output:
After escaping, Are you learning "PHP"? becomes: Are you learning \"PHP\"?
Example 3: Escaping a backslash
<?php
$string = "C:\Users\Public";
$esc_string = addslashes($string);
echo "After escaping, C:\Users\Public becomes: " . $esc_string;
?>
Output:
After escaping, C:\Users\Public becomes: C:\\Users\\Public
Example 4: Escaping a NULL character
<?php
// Escaping a NULL character
$string = "Welcome to Schools of Web\0";
$esc_string = addslashes($string);
echo "After escaping it becomes " . $esc_string;
?>
Output:
After escaping it becomes Welcome to Schools of Web\0
Caution:
Don’t use addslashes() function to prevent SQL injection.
PHP Version Support:
PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8
Summary: PHP addslashes() Function
addslashes() function is one of the built-in string functions. Use this function to escape those four predefined characters from a string.