Overview Of PHP

• Static vs. Dynamic Web Sites
• Dynamic Content from Databases
• Developing Dynamic Internet Applications
• Client-Side Scripting vs. Server-Side Scripting
• Overview of PHP Advantages and Capabilities
• Configuring PHP.INI
• PHP vs. ASP

Basic Scripting and Looping Constructs

• PHP Scripting Fundamentals
• Print Statement
• Code Blocks
• Primitive Data Types
• Defining Constants and Variables
• Looping Constructs
• While
• Do… While
• For
• Exit & Break

Conditional Constructs

• True and False Expressions
• If, Else and Elseif
• Switch/Case Statement
• The ? (Ternary) Operator
• Timestamps

Introduction to the Apache Web Server

• Apache Configuration Files
• Configuring Apache for PHP
• WWW Sites within Apache
• Apache Virtual Hosts
• Website Properties

PHP Functions

• Introduction to Functions
• Declaring Functions
• Scope
• Passing Arguments to Functions
• Local and Global Scope
• Passing Arguments to Functions by Value and Reference
• Returning Values from a Function
• Using Include Files
• The Require Statement
• Recursion
• Dynamic Function Calls
• Predefined PHP Functions

PHP Operators

• Logical Operators
• Relational Operators
• Bitwise Operators
• Other Operators

Arrays in PHP

• What are Arrays?
• Usage of Arrays in PHP
• Array Indexing
• Initializing Arrays
• Operating on Arrays
• Sorting Arrays
• One-Dimensional Arrays
• Multi-Dimensional Arrays
• Associative Arrays
• Array Functions
• Forms and Arrays in Web Applications

Working with Databases and Forms

• Configuring PHP For Database Support
• PHP's Database APIs
• PHP's SQL API
• MySQL vs. Access
• MySQL vs. SQL Server
• Database Drivers
• Database Driver Class Wrappers
• ODBC
• Simple SQL Queries via PHP
• Tracking Visitors with Session IDs
• Populating Forms
• Retrieving Data from Forms

Working with Data Files in PHP

• What are Arrays?
• Searching File Contents With Regular Expressions
• Changing and Editing File Contents
• Splitting and Joining Information Inside Files
• String Functions
• Regular Expression Functions
• Reading, Writing and Deleting Files
• Handling File Permissions
• File Locking
• Reading Directory Contents
• Creating and Deleting Directories

Enabling E-Commerce

• Required Characteristics of an E-Commerce Site
• Authentication and Authorization
• Data Validation
• Building a Custom Shopping Cart
• Persisting Shopping Cart Data Over Multiple Pages
• Criteria for Evaluating Third Party Shopping Cart Solutions
• Open Source vs. Commercial Shopping Cart Solutions
• Order Processing via the Web
• Implementing Order System Security using SSL
• Using Mail Servers (SMTP and Sendmail) for Client Communication
• Configuring E-mail Output Parameters

Configuring and Using MySQL

• MySQL as a Client/Server Solution
• Introduction to MySQL Capabilities as a Powerful RDBMS
• Installing and Configuring MySQL
• Connecting to MySQL
• PHP Functions Specific to MySQL
• Executing SQL Calls
• Select
• Insert
• Fetch
• Update
• Delete
• Using PHP MyAdmin to configure MySQL

Using Cookies with PHP

• Purpose of Cookies
• Cookie Myths
• Setting Cookies
• Retrieving Cookies
• Expiring Cookies
• Deleting Cookies
• Storing Arrays in Cookies

Miscellaneous PHP Tasks

• Error Logging
• Session Management & Maintaining State
• Web Application Architecture
• Using Environment Variables
• Changing Execution by Redirecting to Other URLs
• Embedding JavaScript within PHP
• Using the HTTP Protocols to Pass Data
• Showing Different Content to Different Browsers
• Getting IP Addresses from Visitors