One issue that dampens enthusiasm for open-source products is a lack of mainstream documentation and tutorials that are written by professionals. PHP 4 Bible takes care of that little detail for PHP, the cross-platform (and free) server-side scripting language for the Web.PHP 4 Bible is as comprehensive a discussion as you will find about this fascinating language, which can hold its own against commercial competitors like Microsoft Active Server Pages and Allaire ColdFusion. It covers the core elements of the language and its syntax with critical applications of PHP, such as database access and XML integration. The chapters follow a traditional tutorial style, which is helpful to those who are new to PHP.
An introduction to the basic language constructs, control structures, and functions leads off this book in a comfortable way for readers who are versed in other languages, such as Visual Basic. Very practical chapters, such as "Basic PHP Gotchas," help keep students out of trouble as they get their feet wet in PHP. For database access--a critical application of PHP in the real world--the focus is appropriately on MySQL, a simple, cross-platform SQL database.
Plenty of code examples and a companion Web site with downloadable code fill out this tutorial nicely. It is a one-stop way to learn PHP inside and out. --Stephen W. Plain
Topics covered:
- PHP syntax
- Variables
- Data types
- Control structures
- Custom functions
- Specialized functions
- File-system functions
- Style tips
- PHP "gotchas"
- SQL introduction
- Database access
- Sessions
- Cookies
- JavaScript integration
- E-mail access
- XML integration
- Object-oriented programming by using PHP
From the Inside Flap
Tim Converse is a programmer with 10 years of experience in Lisp, C, C++, Java and web techniques including PHP. He has an MS in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) from the University of Chicago, where he taught several programming classes. He's designed and implemented systems that pick stocks, answer questions about space colonies, recommend novels, and help people pick out ties.
Joyce Park fell into Web development as a form of dissertation avoidance while studying/teaching history at the University of Chicago, from which she earned an MA. She has worked on several systems that combine deep content with AI techniques, such as the award-winning MysteryGuide.com; most of those were developed in PHP3. Joyce contributes documentation to various OSS projects, and her essays have garnered praise from the editors and readers of Slashdot, OSOpinion, SolarisCentral, Linux.com, and many others worldwide. Having herself clawed her way up from the very bottom of the technological ladder, she's in a good position to understand what newbies really want to know but are afraid to ask.
From the Back Cover
"An excellent book, and the one PHP developers have been waiting for. It's packed with practical examples, explanations, and advice…." — Richard Lynch, Zend Technologies Ltd. If PHP 4 can do it, you can do it too…
So, you want to create dynamic database-driven Web pages? This authoritative reference is packed with case studies to lead you successfully through the latest version of this server-side HTML-embedded language. Whether you're an HTML designer, or C coder, or a Web programmer using ASP, JSP, Perl, or ColdFusion, you'll get the most out of this open source alternative using this reliable guide. Inside, you'll find how-to's on everything from getting started to modify freely-available scripts — so you won't have to write from scratch!
Inside, you'll find complete coverage of PHP 4
- Get up to speed on relational database design
- Connect Web pages to backend databases
- Build complete user experiences with session-tracking
- Use PHP for object-oriented programming
- Connect your PHP code directly to e-mail programs
- Secure your Web site against attacks
- Emply cookies and redirection
- Avoid common bugs and development stumbling blocks
Get up and running quickly with numerous PHP examples
Create dynamic content-rich Wen sites with PHP 4
Master the key new features of the latest version
About the Author
Tim Converse is a programmer with 10 years of experience in Lisp, C, C++, Java and web techniques including PHP. He has an MS in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) from the University of Chicago, where he taught several programming classes. He's designed and implemented systems that pick stocks, answer questions about space colonies, recommend novels, and help people pick out ties. Joyce Park fell into Web development as a form of dissertation avoidance while studying/teaching history at the University of Chicago, from which she earned an MA. She has worked on several systems that combine deep content with AI techniques, such as the award-winning MysteryGuide.com; most of those were developed in PHP3. Joyce contributes documentation to various OSS projects, and her essays have garnered praise from the editors and readers of Slashdot, OSOpinion, SolarisCentral, Linux.com, and many others worldwide. Having herself clawed her way up from the very bottom of the technological ladder, she's in a good position to understand what newbies really want to know but are afraid to ask.
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