Introduction to PHP for Web Development:
Hands-On

What is this course about?

This course is about the PHP programming language. It is used to create dynamic, complex and robust Web services. This course is about understanding PHP based Web services architectures. The course provides a solid foundation for using PHP along with an introduction to Object Oriented PHP. The course shows you how to build dynamic web content drawn from files, web services, and database systems.

Who will benefit from this course?

Typical course participants include developers, Web site designers, Web creators, Webmasters, technical managers and project leaders. Anyone with an interest in PHP will benefit from this course.

What background knowledge do I need?

Basic knowledge of HTML is assumed. This course provides sample templates for most of the Web pages used in the hands-on exercises. Experience with a third-generation programming language such as C#, Perl, Java, JavaScript or Visual Basic is highly encouraged, but is not essential. Exposure to Object Oriented terminology would be helpful.

What is PHP?

PHP is the consistently ranked in the top four programming languages in the world. Its primary use is the creation of web services and dynamic web page creation. It is free and is available for Web servers on many platforms including UNIX/Linux, Windows and Macintosh. PHP is used on millions of Web sites around the world. The language has quickly gained a large user base, ranging from small companies to government organizations. Its advantages include cross-platform availability and rapid development cycles.

What is open-source? What is LAMP?

Open-source software is software distributed for free. Anyone can install, use and modify the software. Although typically the software has been developed for no commercial gain, various for-profit companies offer support and maintenance for a fee.

LAMP is an acronym for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP-a combination of open-source programs used by many organizations around the world.

My organization currently uses ColdFusion/ASP/Java servlets. Does this mean I cannot use PHP?

No. A Web site can use more than one server-side language. Just because you use something like ColdFusion doesn't mean you can't also use PHP. Indeed, many organizations use a variety of different solutions within a single Web site. PHP provides the ability to integrate with other solutions.

This also means that you can migrate from other languages to PHP by developing new features in PHP and slowly rewriting existing features in PHP as time and resources permit.

What do the hands-on exercises cover?

Approximately 40% of class time is devoted to hands-on exercises. The hands-on exercises are designed to reinforce the material presented in the course notes. During this course participants create structured, reusable PHP code to produce dynamic Web content. Exercises include retrieving and manipulating data from Web forms, personalizing Web site content using cookies, and using the most modern Object Oriented techniques for integrating database content with Web pages.

What platform is used for the hands-on exercises?

The course runs on Windows. The participants will install their own development environment from scratch as part of the course.

If I am using a database server other than MySQL, is this course relevant to me?

Yes. PHP can integrate with a wide range of database servers, including Oracle, Informix, Microsoft SQL Server or any ODBC-compliant data source. Although this course uses MySQL during the portion of the course which discusses database access, the concepts are very similar regardless of the database server used.

How much time is spent on each topic?

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

• 470: Developing a Website: Hands-On  presents many fundamental Web concepts, including HTML, which are useful during the course

Course participants who are working in a Web environment would also benefit from Learning Tree courses such as:

• 522: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for Web Page Development: Hands-On enables you to design cross-platform Web pages using CSS and HTML as well as develop effective site navigation and tabbed content
• 986: Developing Ajax Web 2.0 Applications: Hands-On provides the knowledge and practical skills required to effectively design, create and implement Ajax-enabled Web sites
• 143: Linux®: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction provides the essential knowledge and skills required to leverage the wide range of Linux graphical and command-line tools

US Dates