Building Database Applications on the Web Using PHP3 - Softcover

Hilton, Craig; Willis, Jeff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0201657716 ISBN 13: 9780201657715

Publisher: Addison-Wesley, 1999

Synopsis

Building Database Applications on the Web Using PHP3 provides everything you need to understand and work with PHP3. This complete resource presents essential background information and clear explanations of PHP3, PostgreSQL, MySQL, HTML, Linux, and other relevant database and Internet technologies. A step-by-step tutorial walks you through the process of building PHP3 applications, featuring a series of increasingly sophisticated applications that focus on such vital topics as creating run-time generated graphics, database integration and design, and login authentication.

About this title

About the Author

Craig Hilton is founder and Chairman of Central Data Corporation, an international research and development holding company.

From the Back Cover

Hundreds of thousands of web developers have discovered the ease and power of PHP3 and PostgreSQL. Together, they form an integrated, robust platform for building industrial-strength, interactive, server-side database applications for the web.

Building Database Applications on the Web Using PHP3 provides everything you need to understand and work with PHP3. This complete resource presents essential background information and clear explanations of PHP3, PostgreSQL, MySQL, HTML, Linux, and other relevant database and Internet technologies. A step-by-step tutorial walks you through the process of building PHP3 applications, featuring a series of increasingly sophisticated applications that focus on such vital topics as creating run-time generated graphics, database integration and design, and login authentication.

You will also find a comprehensive reference to the syntax, grammar, and function library of PHP3, organized both alphabetically and by type of function. This reference incorporates numerous working examples that demonstrate proper use of PHP functions and can be pasted directly into your own applications.

The accompanying CD-ROM provides everything needed to install PHP and PostgreSQL under Red Hat Linux. Readers may also log onto a private web site where all the real-world database applications found in the book can be built from an Internet connection.

Whether you are just learning web-based development and PHP3 or are already developing sophisticated applications, Building Database Applications on the Web Using PHP3 is an accessible and essential guide to this powerful web development environment.

0201657716B04062001

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Preface A good beginning makes a good ending. -English proverb We began developing Internet database applications several years ago. We tried most of the commercial database products. We found that the learning curve, coupled with seemingly endless product upgrades, worked together to discourage our efforts. (Just keeping our network running was hard enough, let alone trying to juggle an off-site database development environment!) Within a week of discovering PHP3, we were converts. Could anything really work this well? We found the learning curve to be gradual. The performance statistics were comparable to everything else we were using. And it is open source! As the proverb suggests, "a good beginning" does indeed make for "a good ending." The robust syntax of PHP3, its broad database connectivity, and the worldwide user support base were strong factors in our adoption of PHP as one of our development standards. To see for yourself, take a 30-minute "test drive" by logging onto www.php123.com. You will need the ID available on the CD. Turn to Chapter 3 in the book and type in "Example 1." Then run your example. Your real-world application example is worth ten thousand words. We think you will be as pleased as we were with what you find. No excuses, jump to www.php123.com now! For readers who are already PHP3 users, we hope you will find this book useful as a comprehensive reference guide. We included virtually every important function, with sections on syntax and user functions. We omitted detailed examples on certain arcane or highly specialized functions that we felt would not be useful in the average development effort. For the most part, the Language and Function Reference contains examples the authors have developed to demonstrate actual working snippets of logic. These examples are not a reprinting of the on-line technical documentation! The book emphasizes applications using PostgresSQL and MySQL, two powerful database management systems. This is not to say that PHP3 can't use Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and Microsoft SQL Server-quite the contrary, all are supported at the native access levels by PHP3. We had only so many pages to work with, and since all database functions are similar, we have not included detailed examples of these in this book. Examples are found on the Readers Only web site. Suggestions or additions? We welcome and encourage your feedback. PHP3 is a collective effort and this is a collective book. The acknowledgment section gives lists of people whose collective efforts have built and continue to maintain PHP3, and of others who have been so helpful in this books preparation and development. So, what is PHP3 anyway? In short, PHP3 is a server-side programming environment that lets you mix HTML and script code. The scripting language resembles C and Perl. Because PHP3 was specifically designed to be a server-side scripting language for web servers, it offers a vast array of functions and behind-the-scenes magic to make common tasks easy. Read on.

Edition details

• Publisher: Addison-Wesley
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0201657716
• ISBN 13: 9780201657715
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 624