PHP for Absolute Beginners, 2nd Edition

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.

What you’ll learn

• Set up a PHP development environment
• Build database-driven PHP web sites
• Learn the basics of object-oriented programming with PHP
• Create MySQL databases
• Create a dynamic image gallery with file uploads
• Develop a personal blog with a password protected admin module

Who this book is for

PHP for Absolute Beginners is for people who already know some HTML and CSS – but no previous programming experience is required. You will learn how to develop highly maintainable, dynamic websites with modern, object-oriented PHP.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Setting Up a PHP Development Environment
Chapter 2. Understanding PHP: Language Basics
Chapter 3. Form Management
Chapter 4. Building a Dynamic Image Gallery with Image Upload
Chapter 5. Spicing Up Your Image Gallery with JavaScript and CSS
Chapter 6. Working with Databases
Chapter 7. Building the Entry Manager
Chapter 8. Showing Blog Entries
Chapter 9. Deleting and Updating Blog Entries
Chapter 10. Improving Your Blog with User Comments and Search
Chapter 11. Adding Images to Blog Entries
Chapter 12. Password Protection
Chapter 13. Going Public with Your Blog