PHP for Absolute Beginners [electronic resource] /
Lengstorf, Jason.author.
Blom Hansen, Thomas.author.
PHP is a server-side scripting language that enables you to develop dynamic sites that engage users in ways that are simply not possible using only HTML and CSS. PHP for Absolute Beginners takes a practical approach to teaching you how to build dynamic content for your website using PHP. You'll quickly get started with practical PHP projects, learning how to build a dynamic image gallery. By the end of the book you'll will have developed a personal blog complete with a password protected admin module. PHP for Absolute Beginners won't swamp you with every detail of the full PHP language up front - instead, you'll be introduced to a small, versatile subset of PHP and learn to use it creatively to develop dynamic web sites. In the process you will learn to use variables, control structures, functions, and objects to your advantage. You will learn how to plan and create databases and how to organize your PHP scripts beautifully. At the end of the book, you will be a confident PHP user, ready to take the next steps in creating great websites.
Contents at a Glance; Introduction; Part I: PHP/MySQL Basics; Chapter 1: Setting Up a PHP Development Environment; Why You Need Apache, MySQL, and PHP; How PHP Works; Apache and What It Does; Storing Info with MySQL; Installing PHP, Apache, and MySQL; Installing XAMPP; Step 1: Download XAMPP; Step 2: Open the Installer and Follow the Instructions; Step 3: Test XAMPP to Ensure Proper Installation; Open the XAMPP Control Panel; What If Apache Isn't Running?; Verify That Apache and PHP Are Running; Choosing a PHP Editor; Creating Your First PHP File; Running Your First PHP Script; Summary
Chapter 2: Understanding PHP: Language BasicsEmbedding PHP Scripts; Using echo; What Is a Variable?; Storing Values in a Variable; A Variable Is a Placeholder; Valid PHP Variable Names; Displaying PHP Errors; Creating an HTML5 Page with PHP; Including a Simple Page Template; Returning Values; Including the Template; Commenting Your Code; Block and Single-Line Comments; Avoiding Naming Conflicts; The Object Operator; Using a StdClass Object for Page Data; Object Properties Are Like Variables; Page Views; Making a Dynamic Site Navigation; Passing Information with PHP; Accessing URL Variables
Using isset( ) to Test If a Variable Is Set_GET, a Superglobal Array; Including Page Views Dynamically; Concatenation; Strict Naming Convention; Displaying a Default Page; Validating Your HTML; Styling the Site with CSS; Declaring a Page_Data Class; Classes Make Objects; Highlighting Current Navigation Item with a Dynamic Style Rule; Taking a Closer Look at the Dynamic CSS; Summary; Chapter 3: Form Management; What Are Forms?; Setting Up a New PHP Project; Seeing for Yourself; Creating a Dynamic Navigation; Creating Page Views for the Form; Displaying Page Views on index.php
Spending Your Time Wisely: Conventions and ReuseA Super-Simple Search Form; Trying Your Search Form; Forms Encode URL Variables; A Name Attribute Declares the Name of a URL Variable; The  Element and Some Common Types; Understanding the Method Attribute; Named PHP Functions; The Basic Syntax for Functions; Using Function Arguments for Increased Flexibility; Creating a Form for the Quiz; Showing the Quiz Form; Using  and ; The POST Method; Using the _POST Superglobal; _POST Is an Array; If and Else Explained; Evaluating the Quiz Response
The Identical Comparison OperatorCurly's Law: Do One Thing; Meaningful Names; Code Is Poetry; Styling Forms; Exercises; Summary; Chapter 4: Building a Dynamic Image Gallery with Image Upload; Setting Up a Dynamic Site; Prerequisites: A Folder with Some Images; Creating a Navigation; Creating Two Dummy Page View Files; Creating the Index File; Time to Test; Adding Two Style Sheets to One Page; Staying DRY; Improving the Page_Data Class with a Method; Is It a Function or a Method?; What Is this?; Using the New Method; You Can Only Use Methods That Are Declared
Preparing a Function for Displaying Images
Includes index.
PHP is a server-side scripting language that enables you to develop dynamic sites that engage users in ways that are simply not possible using only HTML and CSS. PHP for Absolute Beginners takes a practical approach to teaching you how to build dynamic content for your website using PHP. You'll quickly get started with practical PHP projects, learning how to build a dynamic image gallery. By the end of the book you'll will have developed a personal blog complete with a password protected admin module. PHP for Absolute Beginners won't swamp you with every detail of the full PHP language up front - instead, you'll be introduced to a small, versatile subset of PHP and learn to use it creatively to develop dynamic web sites. In the process you will learn to use variables, control structures, functions, and objects to your advantage. You will learn how to plan and create databases and how to organize your PHP scripts beautifully. At the end of the book, you will be a confident PHP user, ready to take the next steps in creating great websites.
Computer programming.
Software engineering.
Web Development.
Software Engineering/Programming and Operating Systems.