echo/alt/MySQL

[Anon]

I'm getting a bit confused with multiple levels of escaped characters, and I'm hoping someone can set me straight.

My MYSQL db contains various item descriptions which contain all manner of characters like double quotes which could be misinterpreted and create unworkable HTML. So how can I be sure that my echo "<img src=$item_image alt=$item_desc>" works out properly? addslashes()?

[[deleted]]

characters like quotes are only escaped to be inserted into the database, because quotes are also part of the query that inserts the data. this is done by addslashes()

When retreived from the database, the quotes will be 'un-escaped' automatically.
If you have a problem with escaped characters appearing in your output, you may need to use stripslashes() to remove the escapes again.