how to accept less than sign in a php function
<p>I'm having a problem inserting a less than sign <code>"&lt;"</code> followed by another character let's say <code>"&lt;p"</code> or something like <code>"&lt;---me"</code>. Im passing thru this function:</p>

<pre><code>function checkValues($value)
{
    $value = trim($value);
    if (get_magic_quotes_gpc()) 
    {
        $value = stripslashes($value);
    }
    $value = strtr($value,array_flip(get_html_translation_table(HTML_ENTITIES)));

    $value = strip_tags($value); //this line doesnt accept lessthan  

    $value = mysql_real_escape_string($value);
    $value = htmlspecialchars ($value);
    return $value;
}
</code></pre>

<p>I know if I remove the strip_tags() lessthan sign will be accepted, but is it safe to save it to the database right after passing thru my function? Or is there a way to let the lessthan sign pass through this function without any problem on saving to database?</p>
