PHP: Basics to Advance

  1. Chapters
  2. Project
  3. Mock Papers
  4. Q/A
  5. PHP Manual

XAMPP gives you Apache, MariaDB, PHP and phpMyAdmin in one installer – everything you need to run the programs of this course on your own computer.

Install it first (Chapter 2 walks through installation, the Control Panel and configuration step by step), then open each program at http://localhost/phpbook/….

Chapter 2 | XAMPP Guide Download XAMPP (Apache Friends)

PHP

PHP is a recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor. It was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1995, rewritten by Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski for PHP 3 (1998), and has been powered by the Zend Engine since PHP 4. Today a very large share of the world’s web sites – including WordPress and Wikipedia (MediaWiki) – run on PHP.

  • PHP is a server-side scripting language: scripts run on the server and the browser receives plain HTML.
  • It supports many databases – MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQLite, Microsoft SQL Server, and any database through ODBC.
  • PHP 8 adds a JIT compiler, named arguments, union types, match, the nullsafe operator ?->, enums (8.1) and readonly classes (8.2).
  • PHP is open source and free to download and use.

This e-learning series moves step by step from AMP basics and the complete XAMPP guide, through PHP syntax, strings, arrays, functions, forms, files, e-mail, namespaces and object-oriented PHP, the built-in function library, cookies and sessions, MySQL with the classic API and the new MySQLi chapters in procedural and object-oriented style, prepared statements and ODBC, to XML, AJAX and a complete mini-CMS project.

40Chapters
1Project
271Programs + Output
615Q/A
205MCQs
5Mock Papers

Every program was run on Apache with PHP 8 and MariaDB; the output shown under each program is the real result of that run. Every chapter ends with 15 practice questions and a 5-question MCQ test.

Download      E-Book Start with Chapter 1
What You Will Learn
Core PHP

Chapters 1–22: AMP basics, the complete XAMPP guide, PHP syntax, variables, operators, control flow, strings, arrays, functions, forms and validation, includes, the file system, e-mail, namespaces, object-oriented PHP, MVC, error and exception handling, filters and .htaccess security.

PHP Functions

Chapters 23–29: the built-in PHP function library by category – Apache and array functions, date and time, class and file handling, errors, HTTP and mathematics, the classic MySQL functions and their MySQLi equivalents, buffering, configuration, sessions, strings and variables.

State Management

Chapters 30–31: why HTTP is stateless, client-side state with cookies and query strings, and server-side state with PHP sessions.

Database Connectivity

Chapters 32–37: database support and MySQL/MariaDB fundamentals with phpMyAdmin, the classic PHP/MySQL API, the new PHP/MySQLi chapters in both procedural and object-oriented style, prepared statements and transactions, and ODBC.

Advance PHP

Chapters 38–40: XML with SimpleXML and DOM, AJAX with XMLHttpRequest and JSON, and the ideas behind a Content Management System.

Project

Project P1: a complete mini Content Management System built with PHP and MySQLi – registration, login, roles, articles, publishing workflow and comments.

Course Chapters
Core PHP
CHAPTER 1
AMP Basics – Apache, MySQL and PHP

AMP Basics – Apache, MySQL and PHP – Explain what open source software is and why it matters for web development; Describe the history of the Open Source…

CHAPTER 2   4
XAMPP – Installation, Configuration and Use

XAMPP – Installation, Configuration and Use – Explain what XAMPP is, what its name means and which components it contains; Download and install XAMPP on…

CHAPTER 3   5
PHP – Hypertext Preprocessor: Introduction and Syntax

PHP – Hypertext Preprocessor: Introduction and Syntax – Explain what PHP is, who created it and how it has evolved up to PHP 8; Describe what a PHP file…

CHAPTER 4   6
Constants, Variables and Data Types

Constants, Variables and Data Types – Define constants with define() and const; Create variables, follow the naming rules and understand loose typing; Use…

CHAPTER 5   8
Operators and Expressions

Operators and Expressions – Use arithmetic, assignment, comparison, logical, increment/decrement and string operators; Tell the difference between == and…

CHAPTER 6   10
Conditional Statements

Conditional Statements – Use if, if…else and if…elseif…else to choose between blocks of code; Use the switch statement and understand why break is needed…

CHAPTER 7   9
Looping Statements

Looping Statements – Repeat code with while, do…while, for and foreach; Choose the right loop for a task; Control loops with break and continue; Write…

CHAPTER 8   7
PHP and Strings

PHP and Strings – Explain how PHP stores strings and how large a string can be; Write string literals in the four syntaxes: single-quoted, double-quoted…

CHAPTER 9   7
PHP and Arrays

PHP and Arrays – Explain why arrays are needed and create them with array() and [ ]; Work with numeric, associative and multidimensional arrays; Display…

CHAPTER 10   11
User-Defined Functions

User-Defined Functions – Create and call your own functions; Pass parameters, use default values and return results; Pass arguments by value and by…

CHAPTER 11   7
PHP Form Handling

PHP Form Handling – Send HTML form data to a PHP script and read it with $_POST, $_GET and $_REQUEST; Choose between the GET and POST methods; Safely…

CHAPTER 12   9
Form Validation and Regular Expressions

Form Validation and Regular Expressions – Explain client-side and server-side validation and when each is needed; Write regular expressions using…

CHAPTER 13   7
Server Side Includes – include and require

Server Side Includes – include and require – Insert the content of one PHP file into another with include and require; Explain how include and require…

CHAPTER 14   12
PHP and the File System

PHP and the File System – Open, read, write, append and close files with fopen(), fread(), fgets(), fgetc(), fwrite() and fclose(); Use the file modes r…

CHAPTER 15   5
PHP and E-Mail

PHP and E-Mail – Send e-mail from a PHP script with the mail() function and its parameters; Add headers such as From, Cc, Reply-To and Content-Type for…

CHAPTER 16   5
PHP Namespaces

PHP Namespaces – Explain the two problems namespaces solve: name collisions and very long names; Declare namespaces and sub-namespaces, including several…

CHAPTER 17   17
Object-Oriented PHP – Classes and Objects

Object-Oriented PHP – Classes and Objects – Define classes with properties, methods and constants, and create objects with new; Use the pseudo-variable…

CHAPTER 18   11
Object-Oriented PHP – Abstraction, Overloading, Iteration and Patterns

Object-Oriented PHP – Abstraction, Overloading, Iteration and Patterns – Create abstract classes and methods, interfaces and traits, and use final; Use…

CHAPTER 19   1
PHP and MVC (Model–View–Controller)

PHP and MVC (Model–View–Controller) – Explain the Model–View–Controller architectural pattern and its benefits; Describe the role of the model, the view…

CHAPTER 20   14
Error and Exception Handling

Error and Exception Handling – Handle errors with die(), custom error handlers and trigger_error(); Know PHP's error report levels and configure error…

CHAPTER 21   8
PHP Filters

PHP Filters – Explain why all external data must be filtered; Use filter_var(), filter_var_array(), filter_input(), filter_input_array() and…

CHAPTER 22   2
.htaccess Security

.htaccess Security – Explain what an .htaccess file is and how Apache applies it; Enable .htaccess with AllowOverride in XAMPP; Password-protect a folder…

PHP Functions
CHAPTER 23   7
Apache and Array Functions

Apache and Array Functions – Use the Apache-specific functions available when PHP runs as an Apache module (as in XAMPP); Look up the purpose and syntax…

CHAPTER 24   5
Date, Time and Calendar Functions

Date, Time and Calendar Functions – Format dates and times with date() and its format characters; Create and check timestamps with time(), mktime()…

CHAPTER 25   4
Class/Object, Function Handling, Directory and File Functions

Class/Object, Function Handling, Directory and File Functions – Inspect classes and objects at run time with class_exists(), get_class_methods()…

CHAPTER 26   6
Error, HTTP, Mail and Mathematical Functions

Error, HTTP, Mail and Mathematical Functions – Use the error-handling and logging functions, including backtraces; Send HTTP headers, cookies and…

CHAPTER 27   2
MySQL Functions and their MySQLi Equivalents

MySQL Functions and their MySQLi Equivalents – Know the classic mysql_* functions listed in older PHP notes and what each did; Understand why the mysql…

CHAPTER 28   4
Network, Output Buffer, Configuration and Session Functions

Network, Output Buffer, Configuration and Session Functions – Use the network functions for host names, IP addresses, services, sockets and the system…

CHAPTER 29   6
String, Variable and Miscellaneous Functions

String, Variable and Miscellaneous Functions – Look up and use PHP's string functions for length, case, searching, replacing, splitting, formatting…

State Management
CHAPTER 30   6
State Management – Cookies and Query Strings

State Management – Cookies and Query Strings – Explain why HTTP is stateless and why web applications need state management; Distinguish client-side from…

CHAPTER 31   8
State Management – Sessions

State Management – Sessions – Explain how PHP sessions work and how they relate to cookies; Start a session and store, read and remove session variables…

Database Connectivity
CHAPTER 32
Database Support and MySQL Fundamentals

Database Support and MySQL Fundamentals – Explain why databases are used for state management and data storage in web applications; Describe…

CHAPTER 33   1
PHP and MySQL – The Classic mysql API

PHP and MySQL – The Classic mysql API – Explain how PHP talks to MySQL and which connection parameters are needed; Read and understand classic PHP/MySQL…

CHAPTER 34   15
PHP and MySQLi – Procedural Style

PHP and MySQLi – Procedural Style – Connect to MariaDB/MySQL with mysqli_connect() and handle connection errors; Create tables and insert, select, update…

CHAPTER 35   15
PHP and MySQLi – Object-Oriented Style

PHP and MySQLi – Object-Oriented Style – Create a connection object with new mysqli() and handle errors with exceptions; Use the methods and properties of…

CHAPTER 36   7
MySQLi Prepared Statements, Transactions and Security

MySQLi Prepared Statements, Transactions and Security – Explain SQL injection and demonstrate how concatenated queries can be attacked; Use prepared…

CHAPTER 37   4
Database Support using ODBC

Database Support using ODBC – Explain what ODBC is and when it is useful in PHP; Create an ODBC data source name (DSN) on Windows for MS Access, Oracle or…

Advance PHP
CHAPTER 38   8
XML with PHP

XML with PHP – Explain what XML is, why it is used to exchange data and where it is applied; Write well-formed XML: prolog, elements, tag pairs, empty…

CHAPTER 39   6
PHP and AJAX

PHP and AJAX – Explain AJAX and how its asynchronous model differs from the classic web application model; Create and use the XMLHttpRequest object:…

CHAPTER 40   1
Content Management System (CMS) – Concepts

Content Management System (CMS) – Concepts – Explain why regularly updated content brings visitors back to a web site; Separate content from design and…

Project
PROJECT 1   1
Project – A Mini Content Management System with PHP and MySQLi

Project – A Mini Content Management System with PHP and MySQLi – Design the database of a CMS with users, articles and comments; Build registration…

Exam Preparation
MOCK PAPERS
5 Online Mock Papers

41 questions each – one from every chapter and the project – with instant scoring and explanations.

QUESTION BANK
Questions / Answers

615 chapter questions with answers, 20 PHP & MySQLi interview questions and the answer key for all 205 MCQs.

Dr. Vishal Bharvesh

Our Expert

Dr. Vishal Bharvesh

Ph.D. (Computer Science and Application)

IT Infrastructure and Digital Transformation Leader

#Blockchain#Metaverse#Internet of Things#Cybersecurity#PHP & MySQLi

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