Getting Started with PHP and MySQL

Prerequisites:

Delegates should have a good grounding in HTML and its fundamental constructs, although an HTML refresher is available. This could be a result of at least 6 months hands-on Web development experience or possibly less if preceded by appropriate training, such as one of our Web programming courses. Alternatively, delegates without this HTML experience should consider attending our ?¢‚Äöá®?¨Building an Effective Website (NEWEBDE-5) for equivalent HTML knowledge.

An awareness of database technology, in particular the use of SQL queries would be advantageous.

Course Description:

As the connected world becomes more integrated, companies are attempting to extend the reach of their applications to encompass clients directly. The use of LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) applications has enabled developers to leverage the power of open source to develop these applications.

This course covers the use of PHP to create web-based solutions that can deliver powerful, real-world applications power over an intranet, extranet or the Internet. It will cover key issues such as design, security, where XML fits, and the pros and cons of using distributed object protocols like RMI and CORBA in this type of application.

The course also introduces MySQL, and shows how it can be used with PHP to create, query, and update data in a relational database.

On Completion, Delegates will be able to:

- Use PHP to create a useful website
- Use and declare variables, constants and operators in PHP
- Maintain state in PHP web applications using cookies and sessions
- Use regular expressions to handle text
- Access company data held in MySQL using PHP

This course includes the following modules:

Introduction

• PHP as a language
• on-line documentation for PHP and MySQL
• A brief overview of XAMPP
• An introduction to basic PHP syntax

PHP Language basics

• Print and echo
• Syntax and alternate tag styles
• Defining constants
• Defining scalars
• Data types
• Type Conversion
• Defining arrays
• Common operators

PHP in HTML

• An HTML refresher
• Sessions
• Embedding PHP
• Pages with Dynamic Content
• Forms
• Special PHP variables
• Basic PHP session management
• Error Handling

Decision making

• Selection
• Comparison and logical operators
• Looping
• Loops for arrays
• Switch/case statement
• Unconditional flow control

String handling

• String formatting
• String handling functions
• Regular Expressions

Writing simple functions

• Function syntax
• Passing parameters
• Returning values
• Creating and loading libraries
• Variables declared within Tags

Introducing MySQL

• What is MySQL?
• MySQL documentation
• Graphical user interfaces
• Command line tools
• Creating database and tables
• Table types
• Data types
• SQL reminder

Integrating PHP and MySQL

• Connecting to a database
• Fetching and displaying data with PHP
• Inserting and deleting data
• Changing data
• PHP built-in functions for MySQL
• Sessions revisited

Security

• Data and command injection (e.g. SQL injection)
• Query string injection
• Cross site scripting
• Cookie and hidden field vulnerabilities
• Sniffing and replay attacks
• How to counter these using PHP

A Look Ahead

• Brief review of course objectives
• Recommended books and websites
• The PHP community