syntax error, unexpected T_VARIABLE

I have been trying to get past this error all day. I am unable to
determine why I get syntax error from the following code:

//modify a record
$myDataID = mysql_query("UPDATE members SET first_name = $name_update
WHERE email = $targetEmail", $connectID);

Can someone tell me what is wrong with this.
Thank You
Gerald Stanley

re: syntax error, unexpected T_VARIABLE

On Sep 5, 10:02*pm, stanman <GStanle...@gmail.comwrote:Please post a few lines before this and also the full error message.

re: syntax error, unexpected T_VARIABLE

stanman wrote:You may try:

$myDataID = mysql_query("UPDATE members SET first_name = '$name_update'
WHERE email = '$targetEmail'", $connectID);

scotty

re: syntax error, unexpected T_VARIABLE

stanman wrote:It's off-topic, but you should try to escape the string inputs, or
avoid combining inputs to query completely by using parameterized
queries.

A simple version is "UPDATE members SET first_name = '" .
mysql_escape_string($name_update) . "' WHERE email = '" .
mysql_escape_string($targetEmail) . "'"

You would also need to make sure the client encoding is correct.

If you're using PHP5, you can use parameterized queries in mysqli or
PDO

re: syntax error, unexpected T_VARIABLE

AqD wrote:Properly constructed statements work quite well without parameterized
queries.

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Remove the "x" from my email address
Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
jstucklex@attglobal.net
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re: syntax error, unexpected T_VARIABLE

AqD wrote:Use mysql_real_escape_string for this.
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Curtis