PHP is still one most popular server-side languages used to build dynamic websites, powering everything from Facebook to Wikipedia. And although it is not especially difficult to use, nonprogrammers often find it intimidating. This introductory course was designed to change that by teaching you PHP through a series of clear, focused, and easy-to-follow lessons. After briefly explaining what PHP is, instructor Joe Casabona introduces the features of the language. He covers variables, control structures, calculations, loops, and functions, as well as includes and error handing, in a series of hands-on exercises. He then moves on to more advanced topics, including how to maintain state with sessions and cookies. Upon wrapping up this course, you'll have the skills you need to start developing and maintaining interactive websites using PHP.
Topics include:
- Naming variables
- Storing text as strings
- Doing calculations with PHP
- Using conditional statements to make decisions
- Creating custom functions
- Deciphering error messages
- Emailing the contents of an online form
- Dealing with multiple-choice form fields