Learning PHP 5

PHP has become popular among non-technical web designers looking to add interactivity to their sites. With a gentle learning curve, it is accessible yet powerful for creating dynamic web pages. As its popularity has grown, PHP's features have become more sophisticated. PHP 5 introduces advanced capabilities, including object-oriented programming and support for XML and Web Services, appealing to both experienced professionals and beginners. If you want to learn PHP but don’t know where to start, this book is essential. It covers PHP 4 and the new PHP 5, explaining how PHP integrates with web servers and browsers, as well as the fundamentals of databases and HTML forms. Written by the co-author of the PHP Cookbook, it targets intelligent readers who may not be highly technical. The book offers a hands-on learning experience with exercises to reinforce lessons. Key topics include how PHP interacts with web browsers and servers, language basics like data and variables, working with arrays and functions, creating web forms, managing databases like MySQL, handling user sessions, parsing XML, and debugging. Authored by David Sklar, an instructor in PHP, this book provides an ideal learning experience for mastering the language and achieving professional web programming results.