Specifiers

The specifiers of a query, which MySQL_Send, MySQL_Query, MySQL_ParallelQuery, MySQL_Run, MySQL_Format, MySQL_CreateQuery and MySQL_AppendQuery take.

Specifier	Value	Writes
%i, %d	Integer	The number, as -42.
%u	Integer	The number read as unsigned, as 4294967254 for -42.
%x	Integer	The number in hexadecimal, as 2a.
%f	Float	As many digits as the float needs, as 1.5.
%.4f	Float	Four decimals, as 1.5000. Any count works.
%s	String	The text as it is. Only for text the script controls, such as the name of a table.
%e	String	The text escaped for a string literal, without quotes.
%q	String	The text escaped and between single quotes, as 'O\'Neil'.
%j	String	The text as a JSON string, between double quotes, as "say \"hi\"".
%Q	Query	The text of a query being built, as it is.
%%	none	A percent sign.

A float takes the Float tag, and a query being built the Query tag. The tags listed in CUSTOM_TAG_TYPES are taken too, as by the natives of open.mp.

Escaping follows the connection: its character set, and the NO_BACKSLASH_ESCAPES mode of the server when it is on.

In a prepared statement

MySQL_Prepare takes the same specifiers, each one a value the server fills, never written into the text.

Specifier	Bound as
%i, %d, %x	A signed integer.
%u	An unsigned integer.
%f, %.4f	A float.
%s, %e, %q, %j	A string, as it is.
%Q	The text of a query being built, as a string.
%%	A percent sign in the text.

Since the server never parses a value, %s, %e, %q and %j bind the same string, with no quotes and no escapes. A value cannot be the name of a table or a column. A ? written in the text is a placeholder of its own, which makes the statement fail.