Specifications

PHP AND MYSQL WEB DEVELOPMENT

Ease of Use

Most modern databases use SQL. If you have used another RDBMS, you should have no trouble

adapting to this one. MySQL is also easier to set up than many similar products.

Portability

MySQL can be used on many different UNIX systems as well as under Microsoft Windows.

Source Code

As with PHP, you can obtain and modify the source code for MySQL.

How Is This Book Organized?

This book is divided into five main sections.

Part I, “Using PHP,” gives an overview of the main parts of the PHP language with examples.

Each of the examples will be a real-world example used in building an e-commerce site, rather

than “toy” code. We’ll kick this section off with Chapter 1, “PHP Crash Course.” If you’ve already

used PHP, you can whiz through this section. If you are new to PHP or new to programming, you

might want to spend a little more time on it.

Part II, “Using MySQL,” discusses the concepts and design involved in using relational database

systems such as MySQL, using SQL, connecting your MySQL database to the world with PHP,

and advanced MySQL topics, such as security and optimization.

Part III, “E-Commerce and Security,” covers some of the general issues involved in developing an

e-commerce site using any language. The most important of these issues is security. We then dis-

cuss how you can use PHP and MySQL to authenticate your users and securely gather, transmit,

and store data.

Part IV, “Advanced PHP Techniques,” offers detailed coverage of some of the major built-in func-

tions in PHP. We have selected groups of functions that are likely to be useful when building an

e-commerce site. You will learn about interaction with the server, interaction with the network,

image generation, date and time manipulation, and session variables.

Part V, “Building Practical PHP and MySQL Projects,” deals with practical real-world issues such

as managing large projects and debugging, and provides sample projects that demonstrate the

power and versatility of PHP and MySQL.

Finally

We hope you enjoy this book, and enjoy learning about PHP and MySQL as much as we did

when we first began using these products. They are really a pleasure to use. Soon, you’ll be

able to join the thousands of Web developers who use these robust, powerful tools to easily

build dynamic, real-time Web sites.

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