Learning PHP & MySQL, 2nd Edition

Preface

PHP and MySQL are a powerful combination that makes it easy to create web applications. If you’ve been creating web pages but want to build more sophisticated sites that can grow and interact with users, PHP and MySQL let you get started easily and then build complex applications on those foundations.

Our goal is to help you learn the ins and outs of PHP and MySQL and to save you some of the “Why doesn’t that work?” moments that we’ve already been through. We’ll show you what to watch for and how to fix these issues without pulling out your hair.

Audience

This book is for people who want to know how to create dynamic web sites. That could include graphic designers who are already working in an IT or advertising firm creating static web sites, and who may need to move forward with coding database-driven web sites. It might also include people who already know, say, Flash development and HTML markup, but need to expand their repertoire of skills to databases and programming.

Assumptions This Book Makes

This book assumes you understand how web browsers work and have a basic understanding of HTML. Some understanding of JavaScript may be useful (for Chapter 16) but isn’t generally required.

You might also be overqualified. If you already know how to create pages using MySQL and PHP, then you’d probably be better off with a book that is more a reference than a learning book, such as Paul Hudson’s PHP in a Nutshell, or Russell Dyer’s MySQL in a Nutshell, both from O’Reilly.

Organization ...