Using PHP variable as name of table in MySQL - php

Question

use php variable in name of mysql create table
I want to use a PHP variable ( $userAltId ) as the name of the SQL table I am creating. However, despite looking at several examples, I have been unable to successfully create a table with this PHP variable. Using echo I have shown that the variable ( $userAltId ) does contain the predicted value, and if I plug in that value instead of the variable I can successfully create the table.
My latest attempt at the code is below, notice I use $useAltId three times, from creating, inserting, and selecting. Thanks for the help!
<?php
$con=mysqli_connect('localhost', 'alexpnqo_johnny', '?KlI+TtfNEIO', 'alexpnqo_johnny');
// Check connection
if (mysqli_connect_errno()) {
echo "Failed to connect to MySQL: " . mysqli_connect_error();
}
session_start();
$userAltId = $_SESSION['userAltId'];//I am passing $userAltId from another php file
// escape variables for security
$FBname = mysqli_real_escape_string($con, $_POST['FBname']);
echo $userAltId;//echos desired value
$sqlFriendList="INSERT INTO '$userAltId' (FacebookFriend)
VALUES ('$FBname')";
if (mysqli_query($con,$sql)) {
echo "Table created successfully";
} else {
echo "Error creating table: " . mysqli_error($con);";
}
echo "You have added ";
echo $FBname;
echo " to your friend's list!";
echo "<br>";
echo "Below is your friends list";
echo "<br>";
echo "<br>";
$result = mysqli_query($con, "SELECT FacebookFriend FROM '$userAltId'");
echo "<table border='1'>
<tr>
<th>Friends List</th>
</tr>";
while($row = mysqli_fetch_array($result)) {
echo "<tr>";
echo "<td>" . $row['FacebookFriend'] . "</td>";
echo "</tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
mysqli_close($con);
?>

Answer 1

Use backticks $userAltId to all your queries (table name) so that it'll read your variable even spaces.
$sqlFriendList="INSERT INTO `$userAltId` (FacebookFriend) VALUES ('$FBname')";