esc_sql( string|array $data ): string|array
- Since
- 2.8.0
- Source
wp-includes/formatting.php:4456
Description
Usually you should prepare queries using wpdb::prepare().
Sometimes, spot-escaping is required or useful. One example is preparing an array for use in an IN clause.
NOTE: Since 4.8.3, '%' characters will be replaced with a placeholder string, this prevents certain SQLi attacks from taking place. This change in behavior may cause issues for code that expects the return value of esc_sql() to be usable for other purposes.
Compatibility
- WordPress
- since 2.8.0
- PHP
- 7.4–8.6-dev
- 6.7.7
- 6.8.8
- 6.9.7
- 7.0.4
- 7.1.0
Present in every tracked release (6.7.7 to 7.1.0), and compiles on PHP 7.4 through 8.6-dev.
Parameters
$datastring|array- Unescaped data.
Return value
string|array- Escaped data, in the same type as supplied.
Performance profile
How much work a call to esc_sql() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.
- Cost class
- Trivial
- Scaling
- Constant
- Instructions
- 6
- Plugin surface
- None
- Called by
- 11
Touches nothing outside its own arguments.
No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.
Executed per call on PHP 8.5. The body compiles to 6.
Nothing here hands control to plugin code.
11 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.
What one call costs · 1 distinct outcome
One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost esc_sql() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.
| When | Instructions | Calls it makes |
|---|---|---|
| always | 6 | ->_escape() |
Across PHP versions
Compiles the same on PHP 7.4, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and 8.6-dev: 6 instructions, 6 executed per call, 0 branches. The work does not change between versions.
An instruction is not a fixed amount of time, so a matching count is not necessarily the same speed; what it rules out is a difference in the work itself.
Used by · 11
- WP_Comment_Query::parse_orderby()Parse and sanitize 'orderby' keys passed to the comment query.
- WP_Date_Query::__construct()Constructor.
- WP_Date_Query::get_sql_for_clause()Turns a first-order date query into SQL for a WHERE clause.
- WP_Query::get_posts()Retrieves an array of posts based on query variables.
- WP_User_Query::parse_orderby()Parses and sanitizes 'orderby' keys passed to the user query.
- _pad_term_counts()Adds count of children to parent count.
- _update_post_term_count()Updates term count based on object types of the current taxonomy.
- get_page_by_path()Retrieves a page given its path.
- get_page_by_title()Retrieves a page given its title.
- redirect_guess_404_permalink()Attempts to guess the correct URL for a 404 request based on query vars.
- wp_load_alloptions()Loads and caches all autoloaded options, if available or all options.
Source code
function esc_sql( $data ) { global $wpdb; return $wpdb->_escape( $data );}Changelog
Introduced in 2.8.0. Unchanged from 6.7.7 through 7.1.0.
Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.
About this page
- Parsed data
- Generated from the wordpress-develop 7.0.4 tag, from
src/wp-includes/formatting.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it. - Corrections
- Something wrong on this page? Report it and it gets fixed in the next regeneration.