Course Workbook

PHP & MySQL

Overview
Table of Contents
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This book will introduce you to the basics of PHP and MySQL. It starts from the ground up, building a solid foundation of how PHP works, thus allowing you to tackle your own projects and applications. It shows you how to work with forms, sanitize user input for security, send emails, work with cookies to collect information on your users and upload files. You’ll also learn how to interact with databases using SQL to fetch, insert, update, delete, and search records, and how to administer databases with phpMyAdmin.

Includes Downloadable Class Files (works on Mac & PC)
ISBN: 978-1-934624-92-0

Download Sample Exercise

Setup & Introduction

Downloading the Class Files

Before You Begin

Supported browsers
Recommended software

Mac: Setting Up the Local Server

Differences between MAMP and MAMP PRO
Installing MAMP PRO
Installing MAMP

Windows: Setting Up the Local Server

Windows: Installing XAMPP

Section 1

Setting Up: Do This Before Other Exercises!

Setting up your class files
Setting MAMP PRO to display errors

Basic PHP Syntax

Echo, strings, and variables
Single quotes vs. double quotes
Escaping characters
Heredoc
Concatenation
Comments

Working with Numbers

Arithmetic operators
Assignment operators
Table of arithmetic operators
Table of assignment operators

Conditionals

If/Else
Elseif
Switch
Comparison operators
Logical operators
The difference between == and ===

Section 2

Arrays

Creating a simple array
Using array()
Multidimensional arrays
Printing an entire array using print_r()

Loops

While Loops
Do…While
For Loops
ForEach
Break out of loop
Continue

Working with Strings

Comparing strings
Converting to upper and lower case
Searching through strings
Case-sensitive and case-insensitive

Section 3

Form Basics and Security

Post vs. get
Radios, checkboxes, and select fields
Magic quotes
Securing the page
Using functions

Sending Email

Setting up MAMP Pro
Setting up XAMPP and Mercury Mail
Sending a test email

Simple Form Validation and Email

Sanitizing input
Error checking
Displaying errors
Sending email
Adding a thank you page
Including files

Section 4

Cookies

Adding cookies
Tracking the number of visits
Sending an email with the cookie info

Sessions

Starting a session
Using session variables
Log in/log out
Destroying session variables

File Uploads

Making a file upload form
The $_FILES array
Uploading files
Basic security

Section 5

Creating a Database/MySQL/SELECT

Creating a new database
Connecting to the database
SQL basics
The SELECT statement
Display the number of rows returned
Making a reusable connection script
MySQL vs. MySQLi vs. PDO

Making a Reusable Connection Script

Error checking
Making an include
Sorting results

Prepared Statements

Selecting and filtering results
Preventing SQL injection attacks with prepared statements

Section 6

SQL: Insert

The INSERT statement
Using phpMyAdmin
Inserting information from a form

SQL: Update

The UPDATE statement
Update form
Display data in the update form
Display checkboxes
Hidden fields

SQL: Delete

The DELETE statement
Deleting rows from a database
Passing ID variables in a url

SQL: Search

Wildcard searches
Searching with a form

Reference Material

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Examples of What You Learn

Learn how to use PHP to find information such as a user's landing page, number of site visits, etc., and store it in a cookie.
Learn how to create and connect to a MySQL database.
Learn how to insert user information that is submitted from a form into a database.

Why Our Books Are Unique

Our books are packed with step-by-step exercises that walk you through projects. You’ll learn by doing exercises, not reading long explanations commonly found in user manuals. The goal is to give you hands-on practice with the program, getting you started quickly with the things that are most important for real life work. Our books are not a replacement for the manual, but manuals aren’t how you learn an app!

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