PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide

Chapter 1. Introduction to PHP

To begin with an old chestnut, every journey starts with one small step, and the first step in developing dynamic Web applications with PHP and MySQL is to learn the fundamentals of the scripting language itself.

Although this book focuses on using MySQL and PHP in combination, you’ll do a vast majority of your dynamic Web site legwork using PHP alone. In this and the following chapter, you’ll learn its basics, from syntax to variables, operators, and language constructs (conditionals, loops, and whatnots). At the same time you are picking up these tidbits, you’ll also begin developing usable code that you’ll integrate into larger applications later in the book.

In this introductory chapter, I’ll cruise through ...