Expert PHP and MySQL®

Chapter 1. Techniques Every Expert Programmer Needs to Know

WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Understanding Object-oriented fundamentals in PHP

• Understanding INNER and OUTER JOINs

• Other JOIN syntax you should know

• Using MySQL Unions

• Using GROUP BY in MySQL queries

• Implementing MySQL Logical Operations and flow control

• Maintaining MySQL relational integrity

• Using subqueries in MySQL

• Utilizing advanced PHP regular expressions

This chapter covers the techniques that you, the proficient PHP and MySQL developer, should know and use before you tackle more advanced domain features in PHP and MySQL. The chapter starts with an in-depth overview of object-oriented programming techniques in PHP and object-oriented design patterns. As a PHP developer, you then become familiar with a number of core MySQL requirements for retrieving data including the different types of joins, UNION, GROUP BY, and subqueries syntax. This chapter also details the logic operators and flow control and techniques for maintaining relational integrity in MySQL. The chapter concludes with an in-depth review of advanced regular expressions in both PHP and MySQL.

OBJECT-ORIENTED PHP

Object-orientation has become a key concept behind proper PHP software design. This book follows the idea that in properly designed software, all business logic (the rules that drive how an application behaves) should be object oriented. The only exception is when small scripts act as a view or a way to display data returned from other objects.

Taking this approach ...