PHP 8 for Absolute Beginners: Basic Website and Web Application Development, 3rd Edition

Embark on a practical journey of building dynamic sites aided by multiple projects that can be easily adapted to real-world scenarios. This third edition will show you how to become a confident PHP developer, ready to take the next steps to being a Full Stack Developer and/or successful website or web application programmer.

You won't be swamped with every detail of the full PHP language up front – instead, you’ll be introduced to a small, versatile subset of PHP by learning to use it creatively to develop dynamic projects. You will see how to use variables, control structures, functions, and object-oriented programming. Secure programming techniques are used throughout the book to demonstrate the proper way to defend against hackers. You will learn how to plan and create MySQL/MariaDB databases and access them using PHP. During this process, you will be introduced to data objects, UI design concepts, and design patterns. Model-View-Controller (MVC) methodology will be used to keep a consistent logical design for each project.

Four main projects will be introduced: an image gallery, a blogging system, a data management dashboard, and an interactive game. Initially, a general discussion of how operating systems make programming easier, more reliable, and efficient will be provided. A brief example will follow to demonstrate installation of the latest versions of Apache, PHP, and MySQL/MariaDB. Basic PHP logic will be used during the development of the first project, an image gallery. Once these concepts have been absorbed, a further review of additional concepts of PHP 8 will be discussed, followed by an extensive blogging system will use MVC to reinforce and introduce additional PHP techniques. You’ll also discover the use of Google Charts to create a data management dashboard. Finally, you’ll explore arrays in more depth by developing logic for a checkers game.

About the Author

Jason Lengstorf is a turbogeek from Portland, OR. He started building websites in his late teens when his band couldn t afford to pay someone to do it, and he continued building websites after he realized his band wasn t actually very good. He s been a full-time freelance web developer since 2007, and expanded his business under the name Copter Labs, which is now a distributed freelance collective, keeping about 10 freelancers worldwide busy. He is also the author of PHP for Absolute Beginners and Pro PHP and jQuery.

Thomas Blom Hansen has extensive experience teaching web programming in the Digital section of the Copenhagen School of Design and Technology. When he is not teaching, you can find Thomas fly-fishing for sea-run brown trout in the coastal waters around Denmark or possibly hiking some wilderness area in southern Scandinavia. Thomas lives in a small village with his wife, three kids, too few fly rods, and a lightweight camping hammock

Steve Prettyman is a college instructor on PHP programming, web development, and related technologies. He is and has been a practicing web developer and is a book author. He has authored several books on PHP including Learn PHP 7 and PHP Arrays for Apress.