public function convertParamsForUse($params)
{
// vet our input
Contract::RequiresValue($params, is_string($params));
// we don't mind if the params are empty
// our list of what to convert from
$convertFrom = ['\'', '*'];
// our list of what to convert to
$convertTo = ['\\\'', '\'*\''];
// our return value
$result = str_replace($convertFrom, $convertTo, $params);
// all done
return rtrim($result);
}