Programming PHP, 2nd Edition, is the authoritative guide to PHP 5 and is filled with the unique knowledge of the creator of PHP (Rasmus Lerdorf) and other PHP experts. When it comes to creating websites, the PHP scripting language is truly a red-hot property. In fact, PHP is currently used on more than 19 million websites, surpassing Microsoft's ASP .NET technology in popularity. Programmers love its flexibility and speed; designers love its accessibility and convenience. As the industry standard book on PHP, all of the essentials are covered in a clear and concise manner. Language syntax and programming techniques are coupled with numerous examples that illustrate both correct usage and common idioms. With style tips and practical programming advice, this book will help you become not just a PHP programmer, but a good PHP programmer. Programming PHP, Second Edition covers everything you need to know to create effective web applications with PHP. Contents include: * Detailed information on the basics of the PHP language, including data types, variables, operators, and flow control statements * Chapters outlining the basics of functions, strings, arrays, and objects * Coverage of common PHP web application techniques, such as form processing and validation, session tracking, and cookies * Material on interacting with relational databases, such as MySQL and Oracle, using the database-independent PEAR DB library and the new PDO Library * Chapters that show you how to generate dynamic images, create PDF files, and parse XML files with PHP * Advanced topics, such as creating secure scripts, error handling, performance tuning, and writing your own C language extensions to PHP * A handy quick reference to all the core functions in PHP and all the standard extensions that ship with PHP Praise for the first edition: "If you are just getting into the dynamic Web development world or you are considering migrating from another dynamic web product to PHP, Programming PHP is the book of choice to get you up, running, and productive in a short time." --Peter MacIntrye, eWeek "I think this is a great book for programmers who want to start developing dynamic websites with PHP. It gives a detailed overview of PHP, lots of valuable tips, and a good sense of PHP's strengths." --David Dooling, Slashdot.org

Table of Contents:
Foreword Preface 1. Introduction to PHP What Does PHP Do? A Brief History of PHP Installing PHP A Walk Through PHP 2. Language Basics Lexical Structure Data Types Variables Expressions and Operators Flow-Control Statements Including Code Embedding PHP in Web Pages 3. Functions Calling a Function Defining a Function Variable Scope Function Parameters Return Values Variable Functions Anonymous Functions 4. Strings Quoting String Constants Printing Strings Accessing Individual Characters Cleaning Strings Encoding and Escaping Comparing Strings Manipulating and Searching Strings Regular Expressions POSIX-Style Regular Expressions Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions 5. Arrays Indexed Versus Associative Arrays Identifying Elements of an Array Storing Data in Arrays Multidimensional Arrays Extracting Multiple Values Converting Between Arrays and Variables Traversing Arrays Sorting Acting on Entire Arrays Using Arrays 6. Objects Terminology Creating an Object Accessing Properties and Methods Declaring a Class Introspection Serialization 7. Web Techniques HTTP Basics Variables Server Information Processing Forms Setting Response Headers Maintaining State SSL 8. Databases Using PHP to Access a Database Relational Databases and SQL PEAR DB Basics Advanced Database Techniques Sample Application 9. Graphics Embedding an Image in a Page The GD Extension Basic Graphics Concepts Creating and Drawing Images Images with Text Dynamically Generated Buttons Scaling Images Color Handling 10. PDF PDF Extensions Documents and Pages Text 11. XML Lightning Guide to XML Generating XML Parsing XML Parsing XML with DOM Parsing XML with SimpleXML Transforming XML with XSLT Web Services 12. Security Filter Input Escape Output Cross-Site Scripting Session Fixation File Uploads File Access PHP Code Shell Commands More Information Security Recap 13. Application Techniques Code Libraries Templating Systems Handling Output Error Handling Performance Tuning 14. Extending PHP Architectural Overview What You'll Need Building Your First Extensions The config.m4 File Memory Management The pval/zval Data Type Parameter Handling Returning Values References Global Variables Creating Variables Extension INI Entries Resources Where to Go from Here 15. PHP on Windows Installing and Configuring PHP on Windows Writing Portable Code for Windows and Unix Interfacing with COM Interacting with ODBC Data Sources A. Function ReferenceB. Extension Overview Index