PHP in a Nutshell

Larger Cover

PHP in a Nutshell

By Paul Hudson

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Released: October 2005

Pages: 384

Now installed on more than 20 million Internet domains around the world, PHP is an undisputed leader in web programming languages. Database connectivity, powerful extensions, and rich object-orientation are all reasons for its popularity, but nearly everyone would agree that, above all, PHP is one of the easiest languages to learn and use for developing dynamic web applications. The ease of development and simplicity of PHP, combined with a large community and expansive repository of open source PHP libraries, make it a favorite of web designers and developers worldwide.

PHP in a Nutshell is a complete reference to the core of the language as well as the most popular PHP extensions. This book doesn't try to compete with or replace the widely available online documentation. Instead, it is designed to provide depth and breadth that can't be found elsewhere. PHP in a Nutshell provides the maximum information density on PHP, without all the fluff and extras that get in the way. The topic grouping, tips, and examples in this book complement the online guide and make this an essential reference for every PHP programmer. This book focuses on the functions commonly used by a majority of developers, so you can look up the information you need quickly. Topics include:

Object-oriented PHP
Networking
String manipulation
Working with files
Database interaction
XML
Multimedia creation
Mathematics

Whether you're just getting started or have years of experience in PHP development, PHP in a Nutshell is a valuable addition to your desk library.

Chapter 1 Introduction to PHP
1. PHP History
2. Advantages of PHP
3. Getting Help
4. Getting Certified
5. PHP Resources
Chapter 2 Installing PHP
1. Installing on Windows
2. Installing on Unix
3. Testing Your Configuration
4. System Configuration
Chapter 3 The PHP Interpreter
1. Running PHP Scripts
2. Extending PHP
3. PEAR
4. Abnormal Script Termination
Chapter 4 The PHP Language
1. The Basics of PHP
2. Variables
3. Whitespace
4. Heredoc
5. Brief Introduction to Variable Types
6. Code Blocks
7. Opening and Closing Code Islands
8. Comments
9. Conditional Statements
10. Case Switching
11. Loops
12. Infinite Loops
13. Special Loop Keywords
14. Loops Within Loops
15. Mixed-Mode Processing
16. Including Other Files
17. Functions
Chapter 5 Variables and Constants
1. Types of Data
2. True or False
3. Strings
4. Integers
5. Floats
6. Automatic Type Conversion
7. Checking Whether a Variable Is Set: isset()
8. Variable Scope
9. Variable Variables
10. Superglobals
11. Using $_ENV and $_SERVER
12. References
13. Constants
14. Arrays
Chapter 6 Operators
1. Arithmetic Operators
2. Assignment Operators
3. String Operators
4. Bitwise Operators
5. Comparison Operators
6. Incrementing and Decrementing Operators
7. Logical Operators
8. Some Operator Examples
9. The Ternary Operator
10. The Execution Operator
11. Operator Precedence and Associativity
Chapter 7 Function Reference
1. Undocumented Functions
2. Handling Non-English Characters
Chapter 8 Object-Oriented PHP
1. Conceptual Overview
2. Classes
3. Objects
4. Properties
5. The 'this' Variable
6. Objects Within Objects
7. Access Control Modifiers
8. Object Type Information
9. Class Type Hints
10. Constructors and Destructors
11. Copying Objects
12. Comparing Objects with == and ===
13. Saving Objects
14. Magic Methods
15. Static Class Methods and Properties
16. Helpful Utility Functions
17. Interfaces
18. Dereferencing Object Return Values
Chapter 9 HTML Forms
1. What Does It Mean to Be Dynamic?
2. Designing a Form
3. Handling Data
4. Splitting Forms Across Pages
5. Validating Input
6. Form Design
7. Summary
Chapter 10 Cookies and Sessions
1. Cookies Versus Sessions
2. Using Cookies
3. Using Sessions
4. Storing Complex Data Types
Chapter 11 Output Buffering
1. Why Use Output Buffering?
2. Getting Started
3. Reusing Buffers
4. Stacking Buffers
5. Flushing Stacked Buffers
6. Reading Buffers
7. Other OB Functions
8. Flushing Output
9. Compressing Output
10. URL Rewriting
Chapter 12 Security
1. Security Tips
2. Encryption
Chapter 13 Files
1. Reading Files
2. Creating and Changing Files
3. Moving, Copying, and Deleting Files
4. Other File Functions
5. Checking Whether a File Exists
6. Retrieving File Time Information
7. Dissecting Filename Information
8. Handling File Uploads
9. Locking Files with flock()
10. Reading File Permissions and Status
11. Changing File Permissions and Ownership
12. Working with Links
13. Working with Directories
14. Remote Files
15. File Checksums
16. Parsing a Configuration File
Chapter 14 Databases
1. Using MySQL with PHP
2. PEAR::DB
3. SQLite
4. Persistent Connections
5. MySQL Improved
Chapter 15 Regular Expressions
1. Basic Regexps with preg_match() and preg_match_all()
2. Regexp Character Classes
3. Regexp Special Characters
4. Words and Whitespace Regexps
5. Storing Matched Strings
6. Regular Expression Replacements
7. Regular Expression Syntax Examples
8. The Regular Expressions Coach
Chapter 16 Manipulating Images
1. Getting Started
2. Choosing a Format
3. Getting Arty
4. More Shapes
5. Complex Shapes
6. Outputting Text
7. Loading Existing Images
8. Color and Image Fills
9. Adding Transparency
10. Using Brushes
11. Basic Image Copying
12. Scaling and Rotating
13. Points and Lines
14. Special Effects Using imagefilter()
15. Interlacing an Image
16. Getting an Image's MIME Type
Chapter 17 Creating PDFs
1. Getting Started
2. Adding More Pages and More Style
3. Adding Images
4. PDF Special Effects
5. Adding Document Data
Chapter 18 Creating Flash
1. A Simple Movie
2. Flash Text
3. Actions
4. Animation
Chapter 19 XML & XSLT
1. SimpleXML
2. Transforming XML Using XSLT
Chapter 20 Network Programming
1. Sockets
2. HTTP
3. Sending Mail
4. Curl
Chapter 21 Distributing Your Code
1. Cross-Platform Code 1: Loading Extensions
2. Cross-Platform Code 2: Using Extensions
3. Cross-Platform Code 3: Path and Line Separators
4. Cross-Platform Code 4: Coping with php.ini Differences
5. Cross-Platform Code 5: Checking the PHP Version with phpversion() and version_compare()
Chapter 22 Debugging
1. The Most Basic Debugging Technique
2. Making Assertions
3. Triggering Your Own Errors
4. Testing with php_check_syntax()
5. Source Highlighting
6. Handling MySQL Errors
7. Exception Handling
8. Backtracing Your Code
9. Custom Error Handlers
10. Custom Exception Handlers
11. Using @ to Disable Errors
12. phpinfo()
13. Output Style
Chapter 23 Performance
1. Write Your Code Sensibly
2. Use the Zend Optimizer
3. Use a PHP Code Cache
4. Compress Your Output
5. Don't Use CGI
6. Debug Your Code
7. Use Persistent Connections
8. Compile Right

Colophon

Title:

PHP in a Nutshell

By:

Paul Hudson

Publisher:

O'Reilly Media

Formats:

Print
Ebook
Safari Books Online

Print:

October 2005

Ebook:

June 2009

Pages:

384

Print ISBN:

978-0-596-10067-4

| ISBN 10:

0-596-10067-1

Ebook ISBN:

978-0-596-10559-4

| ISBN 10:

0-596-10559-2

Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects.

The animal on the cover of PHP in a Nutshell is a cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). Cuckoos epitomize minimal effort. The common cuckoo doesn't build a nest-instead, the female cuckoo finds another bird's nest that already contains eggs and lays an egg in it (a process she may repeat up to 25 times, leaving 1 egg per nest). The nest mother, who is usually of a different bird species, rarely notices the addition, and usually incubates the egg and then feeds the hatchling as if it were her own. Why don't nest mothers notice that the cuckoo's eggs are different from their own eggs? Recent research suggests that it's because the eggs look the same in the ultraviolet spectrum, which birds can see.

When they hatch, the baby cuckoos push all the other (non-cuckoo) eggs out of the nest. If the other eggs hatched first, the babies are pushed out too. The host parents often continue to feed the cuckoo even after it grows to be much larger than they are, and cuckoo chicks sometimes use their call to lure other birds to feed them as well. Interestingly, only Old World (European) cuckoos colonize other nests. The New World (American) cuckoos build their own (untidy) nests. Like many Americans, these cuckoos migrate to the tropics for winter.

Cuckoos have a long and glorious history in literature and the arts. The Bible mentions them, as do Pliny and Aristotle. Beethoven used the cuckoo's distinctive call in his Pastoral Symphony. And here's a bit of etymology: the word "cuckold" (a husband whose wife is cheating on him) comes from "cuckoo." Presumably, the practice of laying one's eggs in another's nest seemed an appropriate metaphor.

Adam Witwer was the production editor and Chris Downey was the copyeditor for PHP in a Nutshell. Carol Marti proofread the text. Sanders Kleinfeld and Claire Cloutier provided quality control. Johnna VanHoose Dinse wrote the index.Karen Montgomery designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman, and produced the cover layout with Adobe InDesign CS using Adobe's ITC Garamond font. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted by Judy Hoer to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano, Jessamyn Read, and Lesley Borash using Macromedia FreeHand MX and Adobe Photoshop CS. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Nathan Torkington and Rachel Wheeler.

Description

Table of Contents

Product Details

About the Author

Colophon

Recommended for You

Recently Viewed

MySQL Reference Manual

Documentation from the source

By Michael Widenius, David Axmark, Kaj Arno

June 2002

Print: $39.95

Programming Windows Presentation Foundation

By Chris Sells, Ian Griffiths

September 2005

Ebook: $31.99

Digital Astrophotography

A Guide to Capturing the Cosmos

By Stefan Seip

December 2007

Print: $29.95

Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

oreilly PHP in a Nutshell

4.0

(based on 5 reviews)

Reviews

Reviewed by 5 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-5

7/7/2011

5.0

New version

By Alssarem

from KSA

About Me Maker, Sys Admin

Pros

Easy to understand
Well-written

Cons

Best Uses

Intermediate
Novice
Student

Comments about oreilly PHP in a Nutshell:

Is there any new version of this book.

1/9/2011

(0 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Only book that answers 'OR vs '||'

By QIQferdly

from Duluth, MN

About Me Developer

Pros

Accurate
Concise
Easy to understand
Helpful examples
Well-written

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about oreilly PHP in a Nutshell:

The cowardly (anonymous) review stating that it had all these errors must never have any bugs in his code.

However, the title should tell you, 'Nutshell'.

Often books are too little (too cute and too babyish) or too much (throwing you in at the deep end of the pool).

I have 'PHP Advanced Programming' by Schlossnagel and love it, but I am so pleased that I read this book so that I feel I have had a thorough and robust introduction without being clobbered by, well, all of the stuff one buys a book titled 'PHP Advanced Programming' for.

The thing I learned from this book, that I have never heard discussed before or since, is the subtle difference between 'OR' and '||' and 'AND' and '&&' -- he didn't treat me like a dummy nor did he wallow in geeky minutia, which allowed him to elegantly explain a very simple and key difference that is otherwise overlooked.

10/25/2006

(3 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Good Information - Errors Throughout!

By Anonymous

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly PHP in a Nutshell:

The information within the book is good, but there are errors throughout the book. Errors in both the titles and in the definitions. If you are still learning PHP, be prepared to double check quite a few items in this book.

3/6/2006

5.0

useful for all levels, but some experience would help

By dakegra

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly PHP in a Nutshell:

I'm fairly new to PHP, having implemented a couple of basic features in one of my websites. That said, this book is an invaluable aid, complementing the online PHP manual as a useful, concise reference guide. It not only covers the language core, but also looks at PHP extensions. Covers how to install PHP5, object-oriented PHP, file and string manipulation, HTML forms and other topics such as XML and multimedia.

As with all O'Reilly books, this one is liberally strewn with excellent examples and clear diagrams, and is well written for its target audience. It does presuppose some knowledge of basic programming concepts such as variables and loops, but would still appeal to the beginner as an addition to the online user guide.

Definitely recommend this book.

12/21/2005

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

PHP In A Nutshell

By S. Stanicki

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly PHP in a Nutshell:

I have 8+ years of programming experience, and I am very interested in expanding my skillset. PHP is one of the skills I would like to acquire. With that in mind, I think that this book is aimed towards experienced PHP developers; if you are just starting out with PHP, this book makes an indespensible companion to a tutorial such as "Programming PHP" by Rasmus Lerdorf and Kevin Tatroe , but "PHP In a Nutshell" is not a tutorial in its own right.

I like the examples throughout the book on how each function is used, and I found it well organized by sections. This book has also helped me think outside the box on redesigning an application currently written in VB.

At the beginning the author proveds a website for downloading and installing Apache, PHP and MySQL for Windows. I had a hard time with the configuration on Windows XP as suggested by the book, and found everything I needed in one simple package (Apache, PHP and MySQL)at:

http://www.e-novative.info/software/wamp.php

I highly recommend this book for experienced PHP developers, and as a companion to a tutorial for beginners.

Displaying reviews 1-5

Save a Tree - Go Digital what is this?

Ebook: $23.99

Formats: DAISY, ePub, Mobi, PDF

Print & Ebook: $32.95

Print: $29.95

Safari Books Online - Read now >

Chapter 1 Introduction to PHP

PHP History

Advantages of PHP

Getting Help

Getting Certified

PHP Resources

Chapter 2 Installing PHP

Installing on Windows

Installing on Unix

Testing Your Configuration

System Configuration

Chapter 3 The PHP Interpreter

Running PHP Scripts

Extending PHP

PEAR

Abnormal Script Termination

Chapter 4 The PHP Language

The Basics of PHP

Variables

Whitespace

Heredoc

Brief Introduction to Variable Types

Code Blocks

Opening and Closing Code Islands

Comments

Conditional Statements

Case Switching

Loops

Infinite Loops

Special Loop Keywords

Loops Within Loops

Mixed-Mode Processing

Including Other Files

Functions

Chapter 5 Variables and Constants

Types of Data

True or False

Strings

Integers

Floats

Automatic Type Conversion

Checking Whether a Variable Is Set: isset()

Variable Scope

Variable Variables

Superglobals

Using $_ENV and $_SERVER

References

Constants

Arrays

Chapter 6 Operators

Arithmetic Operators

Assignment Operators

String Operators

Bitwise Operators

Comparison Operators

Incrementing and Decrementing Operators

Logical Operators

Some Operator Examples

The Ternary Operator

The Execution Operator

Operator Precedence and Associativity

Chapter 7 Function Reference

Undocumented Functions

Handling Non-English Characters

Chapter 8 Object-Oriented PHP

Conceptual Overview

Classes

Objects

Properties

The 'this' Variable

Objects Within Objects

Access Control Modifiers

Object Type Information

Class Type Hints

Constructors and Destructors

Copying Objects

Comparing Objects with == and ===

Saving Objects

Magic Methods

Static Class Methods and Properties