Chapter 1. Getting Started


Since the beginning of human history, people had to work with data. In the early days, data was stored on stones or on other ancient media. The idea was to store data in such a way that other people could use it. At first, simple pictographs were drawn to code various fragments of information. With the invention of the alphabet, storing data became easier and communication was constantly improved.

With the ability to store information, it was also possible to share knowledge with others and to have some sort of backup for the human brain. Looking at the process from a modern point of view, it was all about storing and retrieving data in such a way that people could work with the information. This is exactly what people are doing today. The "stone computers" have been replaced by highly sophisticated clusters or personal computers. Data is not transmitted on stones any more, but is sent across fiber cable networks within hundredths of a second. No matter which methods have been used or which methods are still used today, the basic ideas of IT are still the same: Storing, retrieving, and displaying data are still the fundamentals of every system, and I guess things won't change in the next few centuries. It is all about information and it still will be about information in the future.

With the invention of the alphabet and writing in general, it became possible to describe things. Using letters, it is possible to build words and phrases. Alphabets and languages are fundamental components that every culture relies on. For a long time humans have used language to interact with other humans. In recent times, it has become very popular to interact with computers. However, the way interaction is done is still the same. Characters are used to tell the partner what to do and what has happened.

Because computers cannot understand human languages, new forms of communications have been invented. Programming languages were developed for working with machines and telling them what to do.

With the arrival of modern technologies such as the Internet, more and more specialized and highly optimized languages have been developed. One of these languages is called PHP. PHP was designed for building Web sites. Of course, PHP can be used as an ordinary programming language, but the main purpose of PHP is to work in combination with network environments. The language is a child of the Internet and the father of many Web sites all around the globe. Millions of Web sites have been built with the help of PHP, and it has been installed on thousands of servers.

To store data efficiently, databases can be used. One of these databases is PostgreSQL, a flexible and easy-to-use platform for working with millions of pieces of information. PostgreSQL is a so-called object relational database, which means that it offers more features than a purely relational database.



PHP and PostgreSQL. Advanced Web Programming2002
PHP and PostgreSQL. Advanced Web Programming2002
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2004
Pages: 201

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