Programming PHP

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Programming PHP

By Rasmus Lerdorf, Kevin Tatroe

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Released: March 2002

Pages: 528

PHP is a simple yet powerful open-source scripting language for creating dynamic web content. The millions of web sites powered by PHP are testament to its popularity and ease of use. PHP is used by both programmers, who appreciate its flexibility and speed, and web designers, who value its accessibility and convenience. Programming PHP is an authoritative guide to PHP 4 and is filled with the unique knowledge of the creator of PHP, Rasmus Lerdorf. This book explains PHP language syntax and programming techniques in a clear and concise manner, with numerous examples that illustrate both correct usage and common idioms. The book also includes style tips and practical programming advice that will help you become not just a PHP programmer, but a good PHP programmer. Programming PHP covers everything you need to know to create effective web applications with PHP. Contents include:

Detailed information on the basics of the PHP language, including data types, variables, operators, and flow control statements

                                                          <li>Separate chapters on the fundamental topics of functions, strings,  arrays, and objects</li>  <li">Coverage of common PHP web application techniques, such as form  processing and validation, session tracking, and cookies</li>  <li>Material on interacting with relational databases, such as MySQL  and Oracle, using the database-independent PEAR DB library</li>  <li>Chapters on generating dynamic images, creating PDF files, and  parsing XML files with PHP</li>  <li>Advanced topics, like creating secure script, error handling,  performance tuning, and writing your own C language extensions to PHP</li>  <li>A handy quick reference to all the core functions in PHP and all  the standard extensions that ship with PHP</li></ul>

Chapter 1 Introduction to PHP
1. What Does PHP Do?
2. A Brief History of PHP
3. Installing PHP
4. A Walk Through PHP
Chapter 2 Language Basics
1. Lexical Structure
2. Data Types
3. Variables
4. Expressions and Operators
5. Flow-Control Statements
6. Including Code
7. Embedding PHP in Web Pages
Chapter 3 Functions
1. Calling a Function
2. Defining a Function
3. Variable Scope
4. Function Parameters
5. Return Values
6. Variable Functions
7. Anonymous Functions
Chapter 4 Strings
1. Quoting String Constants
2. Printing Strings
3. Accessing Individual Characters
4. Cleaning Strings
5. Encoding and Escaping
6. Comparing Strings
7. Manipulating and Searching Strings
8. Regular Expressions
9. POSIX-Style Regular Expressions
10. Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions
Chapter 5 Arrays
1. Indexed Versus Associative Arrays
2. Identifying Elements of an Array
3. Storing Data in Arrays
4. Multidimensional Arrays
5. Extracting Multiple Values
6. Converting Between Arrays and Variables
7. Traversing Arrays
8. Sorting
9. Acting on Entire Arrays
10. Using Arrays
Chapter 6 Objects
1. Terminology
2. Creating an Object
3. Accessing Properties and Methods
4. Declaring a Class
5. Introspection
6. Serialization
Chapter 7 Web Techniques
1. HTTP Basics
2. Variables
3. Server Information
4. Processing Forms
5. Setting Response Headers
6. Maintaining State
7. SSL
Chapter 8 Databases
1. Using PHP to Access a Database
2. Relational Databases and SQL
3. PEAR DB Basics
4. Advanced Database Techniques
5. Sample Application
Chapter 9 Graphics
1. Embedding an Image in a Page
2. The GD Extension
3. Basic Graphics Concepts
4. Creating and Drawing Images
5. Images with Text
6. Dynamically Generated Buttons
7. Scaling Images
8. Color Handling
Chapter 10 PDF
1. PDF Extensions
2. Documents and Pages
3. Text
4. Images and Graphics
5. Navigation
6. Other PDF Features
Chapter 11 XML
1. Lightning Guide to XML
2. Generating XML
3. Parsing XML
4. Transforming XML with XSLT
5. Web Services
Chapter 12 Security
1. Global Variables and Form Data
2. Filenames
3. File Uploads
4. File Permissions
5. Concealing PHP Libraries
6. PHP Code
7. Shell Commands
8. Security Redux
Chapter 13 Application Techniques
1. Code Libraries
2. Templating Systems
3. Handling Output
4. Error Handling
5. Performance Tuning
Chapter 14 Extending PHP
1. Architectural Overview
2. What You’ll Need
3. Building Your First Extensions
4. The config.m4 File
5. Memory Management
6. The pval/zval Data Type
7. Parameter Handling
8. Returning Values
9. References
10. Global Variables
11. Creating Variables
12. Extension INI Entries
13. Resources
14. Where to Go from Here
Chapter 15 PHP on Windows
1. Installing and Configuring PHP on Windows
2. Writing Portable Code for Windows and Unix
3. Interfacing with COM
4. Interacting with ODBC Data Sources

Appendix Function Reference
1. PHP Functions by Category
2. Alphabetical Listing of PHP Functions (a-e)
3. Alphabetical Listing of PHP Functions (f-i)
4. Alphabetical Listing of PHP Functions (j-q)
5. Alphabetical Listing of PHP Functions (r-z)
Appendix Extension Overview
1. Optional Extensions Listing
Colophon

Title:

Programming PHP

By:

Rasmus Lerdorf, Kevin Tatroe

Publisher:

O'Reilly Media

Formats:

Print
Safari Books Online

Print:

March 2002

Pages:

528

Print ISBN:

978-1-56592-610-3

| ISBN 10:

1-56592-610-2

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 Programming PHP 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 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? 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 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 for you: 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. Rachel Wheeler was the production editor and copyeditor for Programming PHP. Sue Willing and Jeffrey Holcomb provided quality control, and Sue Willing provided production assistance. Ellen Troutman-Zaig wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

Melanie Wang designed the interior layout, based on a series design by David Futato. Neil Walls converted the files from Microsoft Word to FrameMaker 5.5.6 using tools created by Mike Sierra. 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 and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. This colophon was written by Nathan Torkington and Rachel Wheeler.

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Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

oreilly Programming PHP

4.5

(based on 10 reviews)

REVIEWS

Reviewed by 10 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-10

12/3/2009

(1 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Better to find some online resource

By raxit4u2

from India

About Me Maker

Pros

Well-written

Cons

Too basic

Best Uses

Novice

Comments about oreilly Programming PHP:

Hello Guys,Its a very nice book , as everybody are connected to internet its a better option to find some tutorial online. i found the same at [@]Let me know the review of yours.Thanks.

3/25/2005

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Excellent Reference Work.

By wbwither

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly Programming PHP:

I have been using this book for over a year now, and it has been a lifesaver. It is so handy to have a constant reference close at hand. Even with the wonderful PHP docs available at php.net, this book is very useful, particularly if you're learning PHP after knowing another language.

It does not cover advanced programming topics, but it is a very thorough reference to PHP. It is very interesting to read back through it after a year of working with PHP; many of the things that have puzzled me in the past about PHP are noted in passing in the text, even in the very beginning chapters about variables, flow control, etc.

A required book for anybody who writes significant amounts of PHP.

5/5/2004

5.0

Definitive

By Mike

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly Programming PHP:

This book is very thorough and relevant. It is targeted at perl and python programmers who want to use php. Chapters on regular expressions, arrays, web techniques, databases, and xml are informative and concise. This book also mentions php extensions.

I was amazed to discover how much information is packed in a single book.

If you want to learn php from the ground up this book is for you.

----------

11/27/2002

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Programming PHP Review

By Kenneth Wilcox

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly Programming PHP:

Programming PHP is a great introduction to PHP. The chapters are well written with good examples that explain what is being discussed. The chapters are not written in a "read one after the other" fashion, so you can easily go to the chapter you need information on and find what you are looking for. This book did have some errors in the sample code, but if you read the text and actually try out the examples you can easily figure out what needs to be fixed to get them running. Since the O'Reilly "Programming" series is more about advanced programming issues, I think this book should have had the title "Learning PHP". It just seems to be an introduction, because it did not delve into any advanced topics. It is worthy to have on any PHP developers bookshelf. Recommended.

9/23/2002

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Programming PHP Review

By Luc Castermans

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly Programming PHP:

I bought the book because it looked good at first sight and was co-written

by Rasmus, one of the originators of PHP. I've read couple of books on PHP

before, but this is the best. It covers all topics in a professional

way, and provides examples to it.

I've downloaded the examples and tried them out, some code did not work on the spot, I had to fix them, which learned I had understood the topic.

Great experience !

9/13/2002

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Programming PHP Review

By Sean Rendell

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly Programming PHP:

This book is an excellent addition to a web designers bookcase. Clear and easy to read, it is written by the inventor of PHP, so you know it mirrors how PHP was designed to be used. It is also at good technical level for many computer professionals...not too simple, not over your head.

Included examples do not include excessive amounts of code, which in my opinion, makes it easier to understand the concepts. If you are looking for a book with huge elaborate appplication examples, you may wish to search elsewhere.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in PHP development.

9/12/2002

5.0

Programming PHP Review

By chris brown

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly Programming PHP:

Just thought I would pass something on to you. Being a PHP programmer, I

recently had a chance to peruse "Programming PHP". Fantastic book, cant

say enough good things about it. Required reading from anyone trying to

get into this line of programming. Considering Rasmus Lerdorf had a hand

in it, I'm definitely not surprised.

9/2/2002

4.0

Programming PHP Review

By Peter Lord

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly Programming PHP:

Great book although some of the images aren't included in the code download.

Covers stuff like pdfs on the fly

5/6/2002

5.0

Programming PHP Review

By Roman Blöth

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly Programming PHP:

Alas - I have waited for such a book on PHP!

To date there doesn't seem to be any PHP-programming-book on the market that hits the spot - "Programming PHP" now does. It is the first edition, so the following editions surely will improve from reader's contributions, but you instantly can see that this book on PHP programming has been written by Rasmus Lerdorf, the inventor of PHP. He knows where to go!

There's no alternative yet.

4/18/2002

(1 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Programming PHP Review

By truefluke

from Undisclosed

Comments about oreilly Programming PHP:

I have posted a positive review for this book, at this URL:

Review of Programming PHP. I highly recommend this book.

Displaying reviews 1-10


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Chapter 1 Introduction to PHP

What Does PHP Do?

A Brief History of PHP

Installing PHP

A Walk Through PHP

Chapter 2 Language Basics

Lexical Structure

Data Types

Variables

Expressions and Operators

Flow-Control Statements

Including Code

Embedding PHP in Web Pages

Chapter 3 Functions

Calling a Function

Defining a Function

Variable Scope

Function Parameters

Return Values

Variable Functions

Anonymous Functions

Chapter 4 Strings

Quoting String Constants

Printing Strings

Accessing Individual Characters

Cleaning Strings

Encoding and Escaping

Comparing Strings

Manipulating and Searching Strings

Regular Expressions

POSIX-Style Regular Expressions

Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions

Chapter 5 Arrays

Indexed Versus Associative Arrays

Identifying Elements of an Array

Storing Data in Arrays

Multidimensional Arrays

Extracting Multiple Values

Converting Between Arrays and Variables

Traversing Arrays

Sorting

Acting on Entire Arrays

Using Arrays

Chapter 6 Objects

Terminology

Creating an Object

Accessing Properties and Methods

Declaring a Class

Introspection

Serialization

Chapter 7 Web Techniques

HTTP Basics

Variables

Server Information

Processing Forms

Setting Response Headers

Maintaining State

SSL

Chapter 8 Databases

Using PHP to Access a Database

Relational Databases and SQL

PEAR DB Basics

Advanced Database Techniques

Sample Application

Chapter 9 Graphics

Embedding an Image in a Page

The GD Extension

Basic Graphics Concepts

Creating and Drawing Images

Images with Text

Dynamically Generated Buttons

Scaling Images

Color Handling

Chapter 10 PDF

PDF Extensions

Documents and Pages

Text

Images and Graphics

Navigation

Other PDF Features