title: return rows where column in variable array in php and sql
body: <p>I am writing a query that will return records when the value of one of the columns matches any of the elements of an array. If I use a static array it works (see sample):</p>
  
  <pre><code>sql = "SELECT *
          FROM tasks
              WHERE
              tasks.type IN ('homework', 'chores', 'laundry')";
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>What if I have an array of tasks that is populated from user input that I want to use from comparison? Like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$task_list = //declaration and populate the array. I know it works, so I'm skipping it
  
  sql = "SELECT *
              FROM tasks
                  WHERE
                  tasks.type IN "+$task_list+" ";
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This gives me an error.
  I really am not any good at mixing php with sql and did search for the answer ... maybe I wasn't able to search properly for the right syntax.</p>
  
  <p>For those that want to know, <code>var_dump($task_list);</code> prints the following:</p>
  
  <pre><code>array(3) { [0]=&gt; string(8) "homework" [1]=&gt; string(6) "chores" [2]=&gt; string(7) "laundry" } 
  </code></pre>