The Complete Reference : PHP

Your One-Stop Guide to Web Development with PHP–Covers PHP 5.2.

Build dynamic, cross-browser Web applications with PHP–the server-side programming language that’s taken the Internet by storm. Through detailed explanations and downloadable code examples, this comprehensive guide shows you, step-by-step, how to configure PHP, create PHP-enabled Web pages, and put every advanced development tool to work.

PHP: The Complete Reference explains how to personalize the PHP work space, define operators and variables, manipulate strings and arrays, deploy HTML forms and buttons, and process user input. You’ll learn how to access database information, track client-side preferences using cookies, execute FTP and e-mail transactions, and publish your applications to the Web. You’ll also get in-depth coverage of PHP’s next-generation Web 2.0 design features, including AJAX, XML, and RSS.

Install PHP and set up a customized development environment
Work with variables, operators, loops, strings, arrays, and functions
Integrate HTML controls, text fields, forms, radio buttons, and checkboxes
Accept and validate user-entered data from Web pages
Simplify programming using PHP’s object-oriented tools
Build blogs, guest books, and feedback pages with server-side file storage
Write MySQL scripts that retrieve, modify, and update database information
Set cookies, perform FTP transactions, and send e-mails from PHP sessions
Build AJAX-enabled Web pages
Draw graphics on the server
Create XML components and add RSS feeds