WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK TODAY PHP is a hugely popular language that powers the backend of 80% of websites, including Internet giants such as Facebook, Wikipedia and WordPress It’s an easy language to learn and great for beginners, so you can get up and running fast! NO PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED: start by installing PHP and the best free tools WRITE BETTER CODE: Understand Object Oriented Programming, and learn best practices used by the pros BUILD YOUR RESUME: PHP is a rock-solid language to add to your list of skills In Jump Start PHP you’ll learn step-by-step how to build a complete blog application, understand and how PHP works with data, and improve the security your PHP apps In just one weekend, you’ll have a solid base to start writing PHP on your own! WEB DEVELOPMENT by passion Armed with knowledge of both design Print: 978-0-9874674-0-9 and development, he is able to influence both Ebook: 978-0-9874674-1-6 sides of the web building process His affinity for for complex coding functions and beautiful design and functionality drives him to seek out new ways Callum Hopkins to build, design and optimize web based solutions for clients around the world USD $29.95 JSPHP1-fullcover.indd CAD $29.95 Callum Hopkins Callum is a web developer by trade and a designer JUMP START : PHP NAIL THE BASICS: Learn syntax, operators, loops and functions By Callum Hopkins GET UP TO SPEED WITH PHP IN A WEEKEND 11/09/13 11:38 AM JUMP START PHP BY CALLUM HOPKINS ii Jump Start PHP by Callum Hopkins Copyright © 2013 SitePoint Pty Ltd Product Manager: Simon Mackie English Editor: Paul Fitzpatrick Technical Editor: Timothy Boronczyk Cover Designer: Alex Walker Notice of Rights All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews Notice of Liability The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied Neither the authors and SitePoint Pty Ltd., nor its dealers or distributors will be held liable for any damages to be caused either directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book, or by the software or hardware products described herein Trademark Notice Rather than indicating every occurrence of a trademarked name as such, this book uses the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner with no intention of infringement of the trademark Published by SitePoint Pty Ltd 48 Cambridge Street Collingwood VIC Australia 3066 Web: www.sitepoint.com Email: business@sitepoint.com ISBN 978-0-9874674-0-9 (print) ISBN 978-0-9874674-1-6 (ebook) Printed and bound in the United States of America iii About Callum Hopkins Callum is a web developer by trade and a designer by passion Armed with knowledge in both design and development processes, he is able to influence both sides of the web building process His passion for complex coding functions and beautiful design and functionality drives him to seek out new ways to build, design and optimize web based solutions for clients around the world About SitePoint SitePoint specializes in publishing fun, practical, and easy-to-understand content for web professionals Visit http://www.sitepoint.com/ to access our blogs, books, newsletters, articles, and community forums You’ll find a stack of information on JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, mobile development, design, and more About Jump Start Jump Start books provide you with a rapid and practical introduction to web development languages and technologies Typically around 150 pages in length, they can be read in a weekend, giving you a solid grounding in the topic and the confidence to experiment on your own To all my family and friends, thank you for your continued support, and I love you all Table of Contents Preface xi Who Should Read This Book xi Conventions Used xi Code Samples xi Tips, Notes, and Warnings xiii Supplementary Materials xiii Do You Want to Keep Learning? xiv Chapter Server Kick-Start 49 What is PHP? Setting Up Getting Started Windows Mac OS X Linux PHP Configuration 11 Hello PHP World 13 PHP Variables 16 Arrays 19 Comments 20 Preparing Our Project 21 Summary 22 Chapter PHP & Data 23 Operators 23 Conditional Statements 25 viii if Statement 25 else Statement 25 elseif Statement 26 switch Statement 26 Loops 28 for Loop 28 while Loop 29 foreach 29 Databases, MySQL, and PHP 30 Summary 128 Chapter Objects and OOP 41 First Steps in OOP 42 Extending Classes 45 Templates 49 Project Files 52 Summary 58 Chapter Forms 61 Form Elements 61 POST and GET 63 Form Action with PHP 69 Superglobals and $_REQUEST 70 Forms and Databases 71 Building on our Platform 74 Summary 128 Chapter Sessions and Cookies 89 Cookies: Overview 89 ix Sessions: Overview 90 Session Vs Cookies 91 Cookies 91 Sessions 92 Sessions and Cookies in PHP 93 Cookies in PHP 93 Sessions in PHP 95 Project 97 Summary 128 Chapter PHP and Security 121 php.ini and Security 121 allow_url_include 122 open_basedir 123 Error Management 123 Improving Session Security 124 Validating Submitted Data 126 Summary 128 Conclusion 129 Sessions and Cookies Now we have a small section, which shows the number of comments each post has, as well as the post's title and a short excerpt of each post's content each time it's listed Finally, let's add to our view-post.php template: