In the 12 years since 1994, PHP has grown from the pet project of Rasmus Lerdorf into one of the leading, if not the leading, web development languages in existence. A February 2004 Netcraft survey found that 32% of all web domains had PHP installed1, and the use of PHP has only grown since. PHP’s rise to dominance has not escaped the notice of database companies such as Oracle Corporation, which deems PHP important enough to create a PHP Developer Center2 as part of the Oracle Technology Network. PHP has become a key technology enabling web access to data held in Oracle databases.
Beginning PHP and Oracle is an adaptation of Jason Gilmore’s best-selling book, Beginning PHP and MySQL. It’s a recognition of the growing use of PHP with commercial databases, Oracle in particular, enabling readers in Oracle-based shops to learn PHP on their chosen platform. Supplying the Oracle expertise is Bob Bryla, coauthor of the Oracle Database 10g DBA Handbook and many other titles. Bob’s easy-going and straightforward style is an excellent match for Jason’s, making their book one of the best things going for those wanting to learn about using PHP with Oracle.
Source for the 32% number is: http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/php_experts/rasmus_php.html
The URL for Oracle’s PHP Developer Center is: http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/php/index.html
