Final answer:
The ENCODE_FOR_URI() function is used to encode a URI by transforming illegal or unsafe characters into a percent-encoded format. This guarantees that URIs are transmitted without errors and prevents security issues such as SQL injections.
Step-by-step explanation:
How ENCODE_FOR_URI() Works
The ENCODE_FOR_URI() function is used in programming languages, such as SQL and JavaScript, to encode a URI by escaping certain characters within a string. This encoding is necessary because URIs must only contain a limited set of allowed characters. Characters that are not part of this allowed set can cause issues when sending URIs over the internet. ENCODE_FOR_URI() converts these illegal or unsafe characters into a percent-encoded format, where the character is represented by a percent sign followed by two hexadecimal digits. For example, spaces in a URI are converted to "%20". This transformation allows the URI to be safely transmitted via HTTP.
This function is particularly useful when there are dynamic values being inserted into a URI, such as user input, which may contain characters that need to be encoded to ensure the URI remains valid and function as intended. It helps prevent errors and security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection by sanitizing the data that's part of the URI.