PHP and MySQL Web Development

PHP and MySQL Web Development, Fourth Edition
The definitive guide to building database-drive Web applications with PHP and MySQL

PHP and MySQL are popular open-source technologies that are ideal for quickly developing database-driven Web applications. PHP is a powerful scripting language designed to enable developers to create highly featured Web applications quickly, and MySQL is a fast, reliable database that integrates well with PHP and is suited for dynamic Internet-based applications.

PHP and MySQL Web Development shows how to use these tools together to produce effective, interactive Web applications. It clearly describes the basics of the PHP language, explains how to set up and work with a MySQL database, and then shows how to use PHP to interact with the database and the server.

This practical, hands-on book includes numerous examples that demonstrate common tasks such as authenticating users, constructing a shopping cart, generating PDF documents and images dynamically, sending and managing email, facilitating user discussions, connecting to Web services using XML, and developing Web 2.0 applications with Ajax-based interactivity.

The fourth edition of PHP and MySQL Web Development has been thoroughly updated, revised, and expanded to cover developments in PHP 5 through version 5.3, such as namespaces and closures, as well as features introduced in MySQL 5.1.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part I: Using PHP
1 PHP Crash Course
2 Storing and Retrieving Data
3 Using Arrays
4 String Manipulation and Regular Expressions
5 Reusing Code and Writing Functions
6 Object-Oriented PHP
7 Error and Exception Handling

Part II: Using MySQL
8 Designing Your Web Database
9 Creating Your Web Database
10 Working with Your MySQL Database
11 Accessing Your MySQL Database from the Web with PHP
12 Advanced MySQL Administration
13 Advanced MySQL Programming

Part III: E-Commerce and Security
14 Running an E-Commerce Site
15 E-commerce Security Issues
16 Web Application Security
17 Implementing Authentication with PHP and MySQL
18 Implementing Secure Transactions with PHP and MySQL

Part IV: Advanced PHP Techniques
19 Interacting with the File System and the Server
20 Using Network and Protocol Functions
21 Managing the Date and Time
22 Generating Images
23 Using Session Control in PHP
24 Other Useful Features

Part V: Building Practical PHP and MySQL Projects
25 Using PHP and MySQL for Large Projects
26 Debugging
27 Building User Authentication and Personalization
28 Building a Shopping Cart
29 Building a Web-Based Email Service
30 Building a Mailing List Manager
31 Building Web Forums
32 Generating Personalized PDF Documents
33 Connecting to Web Services with XML and SOAP
34 Building Web 2.0 Applications with Ajax

Part VI: Appendixes
Appendix A: Installing PHP and MySQL
Appendix B: Web Resources

Lead Authors

Laura Thomson is a senior software engineer at Mozilla Corporation. She was formerly a principal at both OmniTI and Tangled Web Design, and she has worked for RMIT University and the Boston Consulting Group. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Computer Science) degree and a Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Systems Engineering) degree with honors.

Luke Welling is a web architect at OmniTI and regularly speaks on open source and web development topics at conferences such as OSCON, ZendCon, MySQLUC, PHPCon, OSDC, and LinuxTag. Prior to joining OmniTI, he worked for the web analytics company Hitwise.com, at the database vendor MySQL AB, and as an independent consultant at Tangled Web Design. He has taught computer science at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Computer Science) degree.

Contributing Authors

Julie C. Meloni has been developing web-based applications since the Web first saw the light of day and remembers the excitement surrounding the first GUI web browser. She has authored numerous books and articles on web-based programming languages and database topics, including the bestselling Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL and Apache All in One.

Adam DeFields is a consultant specializing in web application development, project management, and instructional design. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he runs Emanation Systems, LLC, a company he founded in 2002. He has been involved with web development projects using several different technologies, but has developed a strong preference toward PHP/MySQL-based projects.

Marc Wandschneider is a freelance software developer, author, and speaker who travels the globe working on interesting projects. In recent years, a lot of his attention has been focused on writing robust and scalable web applications, and in 2005 he wrote a book called Core Web Application Programming with PHP and MySQL. He was was previously the main developer of the SWiK open source community site.