There are many reasons for serving up dynamic content from a web site:
to offer an online shopping site, create customized information pages
for users, or just manage a large volume of content through a database.
Anyone with a modest knowledge of HTML and web site management can learn
to create dynamic content through the PHP programming language and the
MySQL database. This book gives you the background and tools to do the
job safely and reliably.Web Database Applications with PHP and MySQL,
Second Edition thoroughly reflects the needs of real-world applications.
It goes into detail on such practical issues as validating input (do you
know what a proper credit card number looks like?), logging in users,
and using templatesto give your dynamic web pages a standard look.But
this book goes even further. It shows how JavaScript and PHP can be used
in tandem to make a user's experience faster and more pleasant. It shows
the correct way to handle errors in user input so that a site looks
professional. It introduces the vast collection of powerful tools
available in the PEAR repository and shows how to use some of the most
popular tools.Even while it serves as an introduction to new
programmers, the book does not omit critical tasks that web sites
require. For instance, every site that allows updates must handle the
possibility of multiple users accessing data at the same time. This book
explains how to solve the problem in detail with locking.Through a
sophisticated sample application--Hugh and Dave's Wine Store--all the
important techniques of dynamic content are introduced. Good design is
emphasized, such as dividing logic from presentation. The book
introduces PHP 5 and MySQL 4.1 features, while providing techniques that
can be used on older versions of the software that are still in
widespread use.This new edition has been redesigned around the rich
offerings of PEAR. Several of these, including the Template package and
the database-independent query API, are fully integrated into examples
and thoroughly described in the text. Topics include:
- Installation and configuration of Apache, MySQL, and PHP on Unix(R),
Windows(R), and Mac OS(R) X systems
- Introductions to PHP, SQL, and MySQL administration
- Session management, including the use of a custom database for
improved efficiency
- User input validation, security, and authentication
- The PEAR repository, plus details on the use of PEAR DB and Template
classes
- Production of PDF reports
