title: how can i use special characters including operands in mysql query
body: <p>Im having problems with special characters in sql query. I tried escaping using {} , mysqli_escape , but it doesnt work.</p>
  
  <p>My query looks like this....</p>
  
  <pre><code>("SELECT  * FROM cars WHERE  car_id= '$carid' AND car_des='$car_des' AND engine= 'B' "); 
  
  $carid = 123;
  $car_des = Toyota &lt;'kk'&gt;;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>so my query reads as follows</p>
  
  <pre><code>("SELECT  * FROM cars WHERE  car_id= '123' AND car_des='Toyota &lt;'kk'&gt;' AND engine= 'B' "); 
  </code></pre>