title: Escaping jQuery data being sent via POST
body: <p>I'm using jQuery.ajax to extract form data from a page, and send it to my database (via another PHP page).</p>
  
  <p>The form information is collected by:</p>
  
  <pre><code>var X=$('#div1').val();
  var Y=$('#div2').val();
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This is used to build the POST string, i.e.</p>
  
  <pre><code>var data='varx='+X+'&amp;vary='+Y;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Obviously this is problematic if an ampersand character is used. What is the best method to escape the variables, particularly so that the user can safely use an ampersand (&amp;) ?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks!</p>