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While there are several professional-level books available on PHP, there are few guides to this open -source scripting language for students who may be familiar with HTML but are not studying to be professional programmers. PHP for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide is a task-based , visual reference guide that features step-by-step instructions and plenty of screen shots-the ideal way for students to learn the basics of PHP, starting with basic syntax, testing scripts, working with variables , creating Web applications, and more.

	Table of Contents

		Copyright
		Special thanks
		Introduction
			What is PHP?
			Why Use PHP
			How PHP Works
			What You'll Need
			About This Book
			Companion Web Site
		Chapter  1.   Getting Started with PHP
			Basic Syntax
			Sending Data to the Browser
			Testing Your Script
			Sending Text to the Browser
			Sending HTML to the Browser
			Using White Space in PHP (and HTML)
			Adding Comments to Your Scripts
		Chapter  2.   Variables
			What are Variables?
			Variable Syntax
			Types of Variables
			Numbers
			Strings
			Arrays
			Assigning Values to Variables
			Predefined Variables
		Chapter  3.   HTML Forms and PHP
			Creating a Simple Form
			Using Get or Post
			Receiving Data from a Form in PHP
			Inputting Data Manually
		Chapter  4.   Using Numbers
			Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying, and Dividing
			Formatting Numbers
			Incrementing and Decrementing a Number
			Using Multiple Operators
			Using Built-in Mathematical Functions
		Chapter  5.   Using Strings
			Trimming Strings
			Connecting Strings (Concatenation)
			Encoding and Decoding Strings
			Encrypting and Decrypting Strings
			Pulling Out Parts from a String
		Chapter  6.   Control Structures
			The If Conditional
			More Operators
			Comparison
			Logical
			Using Else
			Using Elseif
			The Switch Conditional
			The While Loop
			The For Loop
		Chapter  7.   Using Arrays
			Creating an Array
			Adding Items to an Array
			Accessing Array Elements
			Sorting Arrays
			Transforming Between Strings and Arrays
			Creating an Array from a Form
			Creating Multidimensional Arrays
		Chapter  8.   Regular Expressions
			What are Regular Expressions?
			Defining a Simple Pattern
			Matching Patterns
			Defining More Complicated Patterns
			Matching and Replacing Patterns
		Chapter  9.   Creating Functions
			Creating and Using Simple Functions
			Creating and Calling Functions that Take Arguments
			Creating and Using Functions that Return a Value
			Variables and Functions
			Setting default argument values
		Chapter  10.   Files and Directories
			File Permissions
			Writing to Files
			Reading from Files
			Directories
			Handling File Uploads
			Renaming and Deleting Files and Directories
		Chapter  11.   Databases
			Connecting to and Creating a Database
			Creating a Table
			Sending Data to a Database
			Retrieving Data from a Database
		Chapter  12.   Cookies
			Creating and Reading from Cookies
			Adding Parameters to a Cookie
			Deleting a Cookie
		Chapter  13.   Creating Web Applications
			Using include and require
			Determining the Date and Time
			Using HTTP Headers
			Sending Email
		Chapter  14.   Debugging
			Common Errors
			Error Reporting and Logging
			Debugging Detective Work
			Using the Die Statement
		Appendix A.   Installation and Configuration
			Installing on a Linux Server
			Installing on a Windows 2000 Server
			Configuration
		Appendix B.   Security
			Cryptography and SSL
			Writing Secure PHP
			Security Resources
		Appendix C.   PHP Resources
			The PHP Manual
			Web sites and Newsgroups
			Database Resources
			Advanced Topics
			Tables

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