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Asked: 2026-06-15T08:59:46+00:00

In MySQL, what are the differences between QUOTE() and mysql_real_escape_string() ? From the MySQL

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In MySQL, what are the differences between QUOTE() and mysql_real_escape_string()? From the MySQL documentation, I know the following:

QUOTE()

  • Written into SQL query
  • Escapes backslash, single quote, NUL, CTRL+Z
  • Returns a single-quoted string
  • Behavior relies on the MySQL server’s character set

mysql_real_escape_string()

  • Written in C/C++ before a query is executed, allowing the escaped string to be read/modified before submission
  • Very inconvenient to use when compared to QUOTE()
  • Escapes backslash, single quote, NUL, CTRL+Z, and double quote, \n, and \r
  • Apparently adds more quotes to make characters easily readable in log files
  • Behavior relies on the MySQL server’s character set

Ignoring logs, is it useful to escape \n and \r characters? With these two functions, is there a difference in client/server function efficiency? mysql_real_escape_string() sounds useful if it’s desirable for a developer to process the escaped string before it’s entered into a query. However, does QUOTE() not provide the most secure and reliable method of escaping strings?

I wonder if I should use QUOTE() for all queries in all languages and forget escaping strings with language-specific functions.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    It seems that QUOTE() is meant to be used within SQL statements that construct other SQL statements. If you are outside of SQL, you should use mysql_real_escape_string().

    […] In a C program, you can use the mysql_real_escape_string() C API function to escape characters. […] Within SQL statements that construct other SQL statements, you can use the QUOTE() function.

    As explained at the bottom of String Literals (MySQL Manual).

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