Jason Gerner

Elizabeth Naramore

Timothy Boronczyk

Yann Le Scouarnec

Jeremy Stolz

Apache, MySQL and PHP are each complex in and of themselves, and it's impossible for this book to cover every advanced detail of all three. The purpose of this book is to give you the best possible foundation for understanding how each of the core components work separately and together, which will enable you to take full advantage of all that they have to offer. When you’ve finished reading this book, you’ll have a thorough understanding of the core concepts you need to be an effective developer using Apache, MySQL, and PHP, and hopefully a burning desire to continue learning and growing as a developer. We assume that anyone reading this book has some experience with web site development concepts and a basic working knowledge of HTML and CSS. Knowledge of other programming languages besides PHP is not a prerequisite for this book, but certainly any programming experience you have will help you understand and apply the concepts we present. This book is geared toward the “newbie” to Apache, MySQL, and PHP, and we’ve done our best to distill many of the core concepts and code snippets down to their most basic levels. You will find more complex and perhaps more efficient ways of accomplishing the same tasks we present in this book as your knowledge, comfort level, and experience increase. When that happens, you can congratulate yourself and know that you have come over to the “dark side” to join us as Apache, MySQL, and PHP enthusiasts! A variety of topics are covered in this book: Installation and configuration of Apache, MySQL, and PHP Basic introduction to each component and how they interact with one another Gathering information from and interacting with your web site visitors How to avoid errors and how to handle them when they inevitably occur Creating, altering and working with image files Handling user registration and logins E-mailing and setting up e-mail lists Building a content management system Enhancing your web site by adding e-commerce capabilities Incorporating a discussion forum into your site Monitoring the health of your web site through the use of activity logs and error logs Selecting a third-party web hosting provider Finding the text editor that’s right for you Using multiple interfaces to connect to MySQL from PHP As you read through the chapters in this book and learn about each of these topics, you will be creating two complete web sites. The first is a movie review site that displays information about films and their respective reviews. This project will cover the basics, such as writing PHP code, creating a MySQL database, filling the database with data and showing specific information to your visitors based on what they want to see. The second project is a comic book fan web site. This site will be developed in the latter part of the book and will incorporate some of the more complex topics of working with Apache, MySQL and PHP. You will create a truly interactive web site where your visitors can interact with you and with other members of the site. We take you step by step through the development of each of these sites, and you will continually build upon them as new concepts are introduced. Note, however, that each of the chapters in this book has been designed as a standalone chapter, so that if you are not particularly interested in reading a specific topic then you are free to move on to another. If you thought the days of the “pop quiz” were over, think again! We have provided handy exercises at the end of most of the chapters to test your knowledge of discussed topic and challenge you to think one step further. We’ve provided answers to these exercises in Appendix A. This book is designed to be multiplatform and we cover topics and issues for both Windows-based and Linux-based machines. You will need Apache, MySQL and PHP to do the exercises in this book. All three are open source programs, so you can download and use them free of charge. We have provided instructions for downloading and installing all three components in Chapter 1 and Appendix I. You will also need a text editor to enter your code. Many editors are available that you can use, and some of the more popular ones are compared in Appendix F. Finally, you’ll need a web browser, such as Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Apple Safari or Opera to view your web pages.

Beginning PHP 6, Apache, MySQL 6 Web Development

Michael K. Glass

Gary Mailer

What is this book about? PHP, Apache, and MySQL are the three key open source technologies that form the basis for most active Web servers. This book takes you step-by-step through understanding each — using it and combining it with the other two on both Linux and Windows servers. This book guides you through creating your own sites using the open source AMP model. You discover how to install PHP, Apache, and MySQL. Then you create PHP Web pages, including database management and security. Finally, you discover how to integrate your work with e-commerce and other technologies. By building different types of Web sites, you progress from setting up simple database tables to tapping the full potential of PHP, Apache, and MySQL. When you’re finished, you will be able to create well-designed, dynamic Web sites using open source tools. What does this book cover? Here's what you will learn from this book: How PHP server-side scripting language works for connecting HTML-based Web pages to a backend database Syntax, functions, and commands for PHP, Apache, and MySQL Methods and techniques for building user-friendly forms How to easily store, update, and access information using MySQL Ways to allow the user to edit a database E-commerce applications using these three technologies How to set up user logins, profiles, and personalizations Proper protocols for error handling Who is this book for? This book is for beginners who are new to PHP and who need to learn quickly how to create Web sites using open source tools. Some basic HTML knowledge is helpful but not essential.

Beginning PHP, Apache, MySQL Web Development

Market_Desc: The primary audience includes PHP beginners, although basic HTML knowledge is useful. Experienced programmers whose current website has outgrown traditional static structure will also benefit from this book offering them a cost-effective way to upgrade and make their website more efficient and user-friendly. Special Features: · Major release of PHP and MySQL are expected late 2008 - this book will cover the updated features of PHP 6 and MySQL 6· Written by experts in a informal tone and is easy for beginners to understand· Provides plenty of tips and explanations with useful, real-world examples· A solid, practical guide for a quick understanding of the PHP, Apache and MySQL stack About The Book: PHP, Apache, and MySQL are the three key open source technologies that form the basis for most active Web servers. This book takes the reader step-by-step through understanding each component - using it and combining it with the others on both Linux and Windows servers. Beginning PHP 6, Apache, and MySQL 6 guide the reader through the process of creating dynamic, data-driven sites, using the open source AMP model: Apache Web server, the MySQL database system, and the PHP scripting language. The team of expert authors cover topics including: new features of PHP 6 and MySQL 6, PHP scripting, database management, security, integration, e-commerce functions, and provide a complete syntax reference.

Yann Le Scouarnec

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