PHP Module 1: Introduction to PHP

Module 1: Introduction to PHP

• PHP was developed by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994/1995
• Originally stood for Personal Home Page, later changed to Hypertext Preprocessor
• Key features of PHP:
  • Server-side scripting language
  • Loosely typed language
  • Many built-in libraries and functions
  • Supports many databases
  • Free and open source
• Software requirements:
  • Operating System: Windows, Linux, or Mac
  • Web Server: Apache, Google Web Server, etc.
  • Database: MySQL, Oracle, etc.
  • Code Editor: Notepad++, Eclipse, Dreamweaver, etc.
• To run PHP scripts:
  • Install XAMPP/WAMP
  • Start Apache and MySQL services
  • Save PHP files in htdocs folder
  • Access via localhost in browser
• PHP syntax basics:
  • PHP code is enclosed in <?php ?> tags
  • Statements end with a semicolon
  • echo and print are used for output
  • Variables start with a $ symbol
  • Comments: // for single line, /* */ for multi-line
• PHP data types:
  • Scalar: boolean, integer, float, string
  • Compound: array, object
  • Special: NULL, resource
• Type casting:
  • Changing variable types explicitly
  • Examples: (int), (float), (string), (array), (object), etc.

Module 2: PHP Operators and Control Structures

• Arithmetic operators: +, -, *, /, %, **
• Assignment operators: =, +=, -=, *=, /=, %=, etc.
• Comparison operators: ==, ===, !=, !==, <, >, etc.
• Increment/Decrement operators: ++, --
• Logical operators: &&, ||, !, and, or, xor
• String operators: . (concatenation)
• Array operators: +, ==, ===, !=, !==
• Operator precedence and associativity:
  • Understand order of operations
  • Use parentheses to clarify intent
• Control structures:
  • Conditional: if, else, elseif, switch
  • Loops: while, do-while, for, foreach
  • Break, continue, goto statements
• Alternative syntax:
  • Replace { } with : and endif;, endwhile;, endfor;, etc.

Module 3: PHP Arrays and User-Defined Functions

• Arrays:
  • Indexed arrays: numeric keys
  • Associative arrays: string keys
  • Multidimensional arrays: arrays within arrays
• Array functions:
  • print_r() and var_dump() for debugging
  • sort(), rsort(), asort(), arsort(), ksort(), krsort()
  • unset(), explode(), implode()
• Looping through arrays:
  • foreach loop
• User-defined functions:
  • function keyword
  • Parameters and return values
  • Variable scope: global, local, static

Module 4: PHP Predefined Functions

• Constants:
  • define() function
• Including files:
  • include, require, include_once, require_once
• Mathematical functions:
  • rand(), ceil(), floor(), min(), max(), number_format()
• String manipulation functions:
  • strlen(), strpos(), strrev(), strtolower(), strtoupper(), substr()
  • ucfirst(), ucwords(), trim(), ltrim(), rtrim(), strip_tags()
• Date and time functions:
  • date(), mktime(), strtotime()
  • Date format characters (Y, m, d, H, i, s, etc.)

Module 5: PHP Web Forms and Form Validation

• Superglobal variables:
  • SERVER,_SERVER, S​ERVER,_GET, POST,_POST, P​OST,_REQUEST, COOKIE,_COOKIE, C​OOKIE,_SESSION, $_ENV
• Form handling:
  • Difference between GET and POST methods
  • Processing form data
• Cookies:
  • setcookie() function
  • Reading and deleting cookies
• Sessions:
  • session_start(), session_destroy()
  • Setting and unsetting session variables
• Regular expressions:
  • preg_match() function
  • Common regex patterns and modifiers
  • Form validation using regex (e.g., email validation)

Module 6: MySQL Database

• Introduction to databases:
  • Definition: Ordered collection of information for quick access
  • Structure: Tables, records, and fields
  • Types: Flat-file vs. Relational databases
  • Key concepts: Primary key, Foreign key, Normalization
• MySQL basics:
  • Open-source relational database management system
  • Features: High availability, scalability, and performance

This quiz covers the basics of PHP, including its history, key features, and software requirements. Learn about the development of PHP, its characteristics, and its applications.