Should I Always Use Prepared Statements in My Database Interactions?

When Prepared Statements Are Essential

While you initially used mysql_connect and mysql_query to manage database interactions, concerns over SQL injection have prompted you to investigate prepared statements. However, a common misconception arises: are prepared statements only necessary for safeguarding user input?

Why You Should Always Use Prepared Statements

The answer is resounding: always use prepared statements, without exception. Even if you don't perceivably face hacking risks in using mysql_num_rows, the use of prepared statements is superior for the following reasons:

• Elimination of SQL Injection: Prepared statements segregate the query and data, preventing attackers from injecting malicious code into your database. This vulnerability would otherwise allow them to corrupt or steal sensitive data.
• Enhanced Security: Regardless of the data source, any input intended for use in an SQL query should pass through a prepared statement. This ensures that all potentially malicious data is neutralized, mitigating potential security breaches.

How Prepared Statements Work

Prepared statements transmit the query and data separately, allowing the database to execute them as one transaction. This safeguard is far more robust than concatenating queries with data, which was the practice with mysql_* functions and rendered databases susceptible to SQL injection.

Using Prepared Statements with PHP Libraries

With PDO, you can use the following illustrative code to utilize prepared statements:

$stmt = $dbh->prepare("INSERT INTO REGISTRY (name, value) VALUES (?,?)");
$stmt->execute([$name, $value]);

With MySQLi, the code is as follows:

$dbh->execute_query("INSERT INTO REGISTRY (name, value) VALUES (?,?)", [$name, $value]);

Additional Resources

• [How can I prevent SQL-injection in php?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6020879/how-can-i-prevent-sql-injection-in-php)
• [What is SQL-injection? (Simple Terms)](https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/7966/what-is-sql-injection-and-how-can-i-prevent-it)

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