Basic PHP Programming

The PHP Windows installer works great on Windows XP Professional running IS. What the installer does is to install the CGI version of PHP for IIS, PWS, and Xitami. It also configures the web server. Don’t forget to select the appropriate build.

For Linux/Unix users, there is a PHP Source code available on the official PHP site. Compile it and voila! Make sure that you check first your web-server since most of the Linux/Unix versions already have PHP installed in them (neat huh?). Another option is to install it with an installer CD that comes with the Operating System.

Some PHP installer downloads are just add on’s. You would probably need a web server to install PHP. But before you install PHP, check if your web server is working properly.

PHP also allows you to build your site using PHP on Windows but you can still install and run the same code on Linux/Unix servers.

The tutorial of the PHP aimed the users who have no previous experience with programming in PHP or any other programming language. But not at all there’s no guarantee to reach this goal to be reached, its very likely that there are places where the user is assumed to know things he or she wont know at this point of learning PHP.

In learning PHP and MySQL you need to understand that one of the greatest uses of these programs is in the form of Content Management System (CMS). As you can see, CMS is the main support of a dynamic web site. In fact, successful publishing sytems like Drupal and Wordpress utilize server side scripting and a database, in which the top choices are often PHP and MySQL.

But PHP and MySQL are not the only scripting languages and databases in the market. There are also others like Oracle and DB2 which sometimes offer better choice than the former. The reason why PHP and MySQL have become popular choices however is that PHP is more manageable while MySQL is a placed in a more established and secure Open Source database position.

PHP now known as “PHP Hypertext Preprocessor”, but originally “Personal Home Page Tools” is a widely used open-source programming language used primarily for server-side applications, to develop dynamic web content such as the MediaWiki software. It can be seen as an open source alternative to Microsoft’s Active Server Pages (ASP) system and to the CGI/Perl system.

Its ease of use and similarity with the most common structured programming languages, most notably C and Perl, allows most experienced programmers to start developing complex applications with a minimal learning curve. It also enables experienced developers to get involved with dynamic web content applications without having to learn a whole new set of functions and practices.

Zend Technologies plans to announce availability of the open source Zend Framework 1.5 for building PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) applications next week. With this release, Zend Framework is to be made available in a version of the Ubuntu Linux distribution in April.

Featuring contributions and sponsorships from such vendors as Microsoft, IBM, and Google, Zend Framework 1.5 supports OpenID and Microsoft InfoCard identity management technologies. Also supported is LDAP authentication and the Nirvanix media content storage and delivery network. PHP programmers using the framework can access Nirvanix capabilities. Zend is offering a Zend Framework subscription support service, featuring consulting and a guaranteed per-incident response time.

Blogger is equipped with a superb interface used to tidy up blog entries as well as facilitate endorsement of a blog to attain a better position in its niche. This application only requires an uncomplicated SimpleXML set transported with an entire PHP system, along with some understanding of the Google Blogger API and a small part of PHP scripting to come up with the needed HTML code.

Blogger interface is so excellent that it should be put to full use when promoting a blog because with this method, one need not install blog software on a web server anymore since it is already inbuilt with Blogger. This way the web site owner saves time and effort, plus he is able to maintain his MySQL database allowance and set it aside for better and more advanced use in the future.

It’s surprising how many PHP programmers make the mistake of ignoring many of the basics, such as resizing big files. Big files make load times significantly slower, and are a bane to impatient people and people with slow internet connection speeds.

Failing to resize you large files makes you an unintentional elitist – it’s like you hung a sign on your site that says “Folks with slow internet connections speed are NOT welcome here.”

It’s a simple enough tip, but many ignore or overlook it precisely because of that. You might have a fast internet connection, but chances are many viewers don’t enjoy the same luxury. And maximizing viewership is a must for every website, and big files that cause delays in loading times totally defeat the purpose, especially with the shot attention span many people have when browsing the net.

Image source: www.flickr.com
Why not exhibit some output onto the screen? It is in truth much easier to achieve with PHP. All you have to do is use PHP language construct called echo and we are done. Here’s how..
Open a blank new file in your editor or notepad and write the below talk about lines in the file. Then save the file with a .php extension. If you are using notepad as editor then be careful about the file extension. In Windows OS the file extensions are often hidden, so you must ensure that file saved has a .php extension.
If that is the exact output on your browser, then it is a success!!! We are on a good start. If you did not see this output, then perhaps PHP was not installed or configured properly. Note that if the PHP file is prompted to be downloaded in your browser, then PHP is not installed or configured properly as the file with .php extension is not being parsed. Please refer to your installation procedure.

Just so you’ll be aware of the different versions of PHP. This post features older versions:

Version 4.1.0 introduced the superglobal arrays. Because of this, there are scripts written in superglobals that will not run in versions prior to this particular version. If you’re using older versions of PHP, then you must use old style arrays such as the $HTTP_POST_VARS.

Version 4.2.0 is a little more complicated. This version of PHP changed the default setting for register_globals to Off. There are scripts developed under previous versions that depend on register_globals that are set to On. These particular scripts may stop running with the 4.2.0 setting. To solve this, change the coding of the scripts so that they can run with this version.

Important improvements were made to the CU version of PHP in Version 4.3.0. The CU is built automatically by default when the PHP is complied from source code. If one wishes for it not to be built, then it must be disabled with installation options.

Version 4.3.1 features a security fix to problems in 4.3.0.

More to come…

Here are some helpful basics on PHP: Begin, at all times, a PHP page with . (a period) and never neglect to use ; (semi colon) at the close of a variable. Secondly, before manually starting phpmyadmin to make your PHP program run properly, be ready to set up PHP, PHPTriad first. Next, to enable your php program to function, bring a php page in a .php wing. And lastly, don’t forget that security is the main requirement in using this type of PHP language. In developing a page with PHP, high level of security is necessary.

It is also very important to note that if you really want your program to operate, follow instructions to the letter. With this type of system, accuracy is the key.