How to use htmlspecialchars() for sanitize input in PHP 2023

To sanitize user input with PHP, you can use the htmlspecialchars() function. This function converts special characters in the input string to HTML entities, which prevents malicious code from being executed. For example, the < and > characters are converted to < and >, respectively, which prevents them from being interpreted as HTML tags.

Here is an example of how you can use the htmlspecialchars() function to sanitize user input:

$user_input = "<script>alert('Hello, world!')</script>";
$safe_input = htmlspecialchars($user_input);

In this example, the $user_input variable contains a string with a JavaScript alert command. When this string is passed to the htmlspecialchars() function, the special characters are converted to HTML entities and the resulting string is stored in the $safe_input variable. The $safe_input variable can then be safely displayed on a web page without the risk of the JavaScript code being executed.

In addition to the htmlspecialchars() function, PHP also provides other functions for sanitizing user input, such as strip_tags() and filter_var(). These functions can be used in different scenarios depending on the specific needs of your application. It's important to always sanitize user input to prevent malicious code from being executed on your website.