Introduction

• (your basic introductory text)
• For More Stuff

Chapter 1: Getting Started with PHP

• A Brief History of PHP
• What Does PHP Do?
  • The Future of PHP
  • Is PHP Right for Me?
  • A Note Regarding Open Source Development
• Installing a Web Server
  • Downloading and Installing Apache
  • Downloading and Installing Xitami
  • Downloading and Installing Microsoft IIS
  • Downloading and Installing WebTen
• Downloading and Installing PHP3
  • Installing PHP3 on Windows
  • Installing PHP3 on UNIX
  • Tesing Your PHP Installation
• Installing a Database
  • Downloading MySQL
• Using PHP4

Chapter 2: Basic PHP Techniques

• An HTML Refresher
  • HTML Tags
  • Creating a Valid HTML Document
• Your First PHP Script
  • All About Variables
  • Displaying Dynamic Content
  • Sending E-Mail
  • Reading and Writing Data Files

Chapter 3: Working With Databases

• Basic Database Theory
  • The Importance of Unique Identifiers
  • What About Relationships?
• Basic SQL
  • CREATE
  • ALTER
  • DROP
  • INSERT
  • UPDATE
  • SELECT
  • DELETE
• Establishing a Database Connection with PHP
  • Connecting to Informix Databases
  • Connecting to Microsoft SQL Server
  • Connecting to an mSQL Database
  • Connecting to a MySQL Database
  • Connecting to an Oracle Database
  • Connecting to a PostgreSQL Database
  • Connecting to a Sybase Database
  • Making ODBC Connections

Chapter 4: Creating and Populating Database Tables

• Create a Database Table
  • Step 1: Basic Table Definition
  • Step 2: Field Definition
  • Step 3: Connect to MySQL and Create the Table
• Inserting Data
• Select and Display Data

Chapter 5: User Authentication

• Basic HTTP Authentication
  • Configuring HTTP Authentication on Apache
• Database-Driven Authentication
  • Using PHP Authentication Variables to Validate Users
  • Using HTML Forms to Validate Users
• Limit by IP Address

Chapter 6: User Tracking and Session Management

• Cookies
  • Setting Cookies
  • Reading Cookies
• PHP4 Session Handling
  • Understanding Session Variables
  • Starting a Session and Registering Variables
  • Managing User Preferences with Sessions
  • A Word of Advice

Chapter 7: Advanced PHP Techniques: Web-Based Database Administration

• Planning Your Product Catalog
  • Developing an Administration Menu

Chapter 8: Advanced PHP Techniques: e-Commerce

• Data Encryption, or Safe and Secure Shopping
  • A Brief Glance at Data Encryption
• Creating a Shopping System
  • Displaying Your Product Catalog
  • Tracking Your Users' Shopping Carts
  • Counting the Cart Items
  • Checkout Time!
  • Sending Secure Orders Via E-Mail
• More Advanced Techniques

Appendix A: Essential PHP Language Reference

• PHP Syntax
• Variables
• Operators
• Control Structures
• Built-In Functions

Appendix B: Getting Support

• Web Sites
• Mailing Lists