PDO's query vs execute

Question

Are they both do the same thing, only differently?

Is there any difference besides using prepare between

$sth = $db->query("SELECT * FROM table"); $result = $sth->fetchAll(); 

and

$sth = $db->prepare("SELECT * FROM table"); $sth->execute(); $result = $sth->fetchAll(); 

?

Answer 1

query runs a standard SQL statement and requires you to properly escape all data to avoid SQL Injections and other issues.

execute runs a prepared statement which allows you to bind parameters to avoid the need to escape or quote the parameters. execute will also perform better if you are repeating a query multiple times. Example of prepared statements:

$sth = $dbh->prepare('SELECT name, colour, calories FROM fruit     WHERE calories < :calories AND colour = :colour'); $sth->bindParam(':calories', $calories); $sth->bindParam(':colour', $colour); $sth->execute(); // $calories or $color do not need to be escaped or quoted since the //    data is separated from the query 

Best practice is to stick with prepared statements and execute for increased security.

See also: Are PDO prepared statements sufficient to prevent SQL injection?