Whether you’re sharing data between two internal systems or building an API so that users can access their data, this practical guide has everything you need to build APIs with PHP. Author Lorna Jane Mitchell provides lots of hands-on code samples, real-world examples, and advice based on her extensive experience to guide you through the process—from the underlying theory to methods for making your service robust.

You’ll learn how to use this language to work with JSON, XML, and other web service technologies. This updated second edition includes new tools and features that reflect PHP updates and changes on the Web.

Explore HTTP, from the request/response cycle to its verbs, headers, and cookies
Work with and publish webhooks—user-defined HTTP callbacks
Determine whether JSON or XML is the best data format for your application
Get advice for working with RPC, SOAP, and RESTful services
Use several tools and techniques for debugging HTTP web services
Choose the service that works best for your application, and learn how to make it robust
Document your API—and learn how to design it to handle errors

About the Author

Lorna Jane Mitchell is an independent web development consultant, specializing in PHP and APIs in particular. With over 10 years of PHP development experience across a wide variety of industries, Lorna learned many lessons the hard way and always has a story to tell. Lorna is also an experienced trainer, offering training both to private clients around the world and teaching public courses. A prolific writer, Lorna writes for a number of publications, and frequently for her own blog http://lornajane.net.

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