PHP/MySQL

Introduction
 Goal
• Not to teach everything about PHP, but provide the basic
knowledge
• Explain code of examples
• Provide some useful references
PHP Basics:

Introduction to PHP
• a PHP file, PHP workings, running PHP.
 Basic PHP syntax
• variables, operators, if...else...and switch, while, do while, and
for.
 Some useful PHP functions
 How to work with
• HTML forms, cookies, files, time and date.
 How to create a basic checker for user-entered data
Server-Side Dynamic Web Programming

• CGI is one of the most common approaches to server-side programming

 Universal support: (almost) Every server supports CGI programming. A great
deal of ready-to-use CGI code. Most APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)
also allow CGI programming.
 Choice of languages: CGI is extremely general, so that programs may be written
in nearly any language. Perl is by far the most popular, with the result that many
people think that CGI means Perl. But C, C++, Ruby, and Python are also used
for CGI programming.
 Drawbacks: A separate process is run every time the script is requested. A
distinction is made between HTML pages and code.
• Other server-side alternatives try to avoid the drawbacks
 Server-Side Includes (SSI): Code is embedded in HTML pages, and evaluated
on the server while the pages are being served. Add dynamically generated
content to an existing HTML page, without having to serve the entire page via a
CGI program.
 Active Server Pages (ASP, Microsoft) : The ASP engine is integrated into the
web server so it does not require an additional process. It allows programmers to
mix code within HTML pages instead of writing separate programs.
(Drawback(?) Must be run on a server using Microsoft server software.)
 Java Servlets (Sun): As CGI scripts, they are code that creates documents.
These must be compiled as classes which are dynamically loaded by the web
server when they are run.
 Java Server Pages (JSP): Like ASP, another technology that allows developers
to embed Java in web pages.
PHP
• developed in 1995 by Rasmus Lerdorf (member of the Apache Group)
 originally designed as a tool for tracking visitors at Lerdorf's Web site
 within 2 years, widely used in conjunction with the Apache server
 developed into full-featured, scripting language for server-side programming
 free, open-source
 server plug-ins exist for various servers
 now fully integrated to work with mySQL databases
• PHP is similar to JavaScript, only it’s a server-side language
 PHP code is embedded in HTML using tags
 when a page request arrives, the server recognizes PHP content via the file extension
(.php or .phtml)
 the server executes the PHP code, substitutes output into the HTML page
 the resulting page is then downloaded to the client
 user never sees the PHP code, only the output in the page
What do You Need?
• Our server supports PHP
• You don't need to do anything special! *
• You don't need to compile anything or install any extra
tools!
• Create some .php files in your web directory - and the
server will parse them for you.
* Slightly different rules apply when dealing with an
SQL database (as will be explained when we get to that
point).
• Most servers support PHP
• Download PHP for free here:
http://www.php.net/downloads.php
• Download MySQL for free here:
http://www.mysql.com/downloads/index.html
• Download Apache for free here:
http://httpd.apache.org/download.cgi

(Note: All of this is already present on the CS servers, so you need

not do any installation yourself to utilize PHP on our machines.)
What is PHP?
• PHP == ‘Hypertext Preprocessor’
• Open-source, server-side scripting language
• Used to generate dynamic web-pages
• PHP scripts reside between reserved PHP tags
• This allows the programmer to embed PHP scripts within HTML pages
• The acronym PHP means (in a slightly recursive definition)
 PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
What is PHP (cont’d)
• Interpreted language, scripts are parsed at run-time
rather than compiled beforehand
• Executed on the server-side
• Source-code not visible by client
• ‘View Source’ in browsers does not display the PHP code
• Various built-in functions allow for fast development
• Compatible with many popular databases
What does PHP code look
like?
• Structurally similar to C/C++
• Supports procedural and object-oriented paradigm (to
some degree)
• All PHP statements end with a semi-colon
• Each PHP script must be enclosed in the reserved PHP
tag

<?php
…
?>
Comments in PHP
• Standard C, C++, and shell comment symbols

// C++ and Java-style comment

# Shell-style comments

/* C-style comments
These can span multiple lines */
Variables in PHP
• PHP variables must begin with a “$” sign
• Case-sensitive ($Foo != $foo != $fOo)
• Global and locally-scoped variables
• Global variables can be used anywhere
• Local variables restricted to a function or class
• Certain variable names reserved by PHP
• Form variables ($_POST, $_GET)
• Server variables ($_SERVER)
• Etc.
 Constants
A constant is an identifier (name) for a simple value. A constant is case-sensitive by
default. By convention, constant identifiers are always uppercase.

<?php

// Valid constant names

define("FOO", "something");
define("FOO2", "something else");
define("FOO_BAR", "something more");
You can access
// Invalid constant names (they shouldn’t start constants anywhere
// with a number!)
in your script
define("2FOO", "something"); without regard to
// This is valid, but should be avoided:
scope.
// PHP may one day provide a “magical” constant
// that will break your script

define("__FOO__", "something");

?>
 Operators Example Is the same as
• Arithmetic Operators: +, -, *,/ , %, ++, -- x+=y x=x+y
• Assignment Operators: =, +=, -=, *=, /=, %= x-=y x=x-y
x*=y x=x*y
x/=y x=x/y
x%=y x=x%y

• Comparison Operators: ==, !=, >, <, >=, <=

• Logical Operators: &&, ||, !
• String Operators: . and .= (for string concatenation)

$a = "Hello ";
$b = $a . "World!"; // now $b contains "Hello World!"

$a = "Hello ";
$a .= "World!";
Variable usage

<?php
$foo = 25; // Numerical variable
$bar = “Hello”; // String variable

$foo = ($foo * 7); // Multiplies foo by 7

$bar = ($bar * 7); // Invalid expression
?>
 Basic PHP syntax
A PHP scripting block always starts with <?php and ends with ?>. A PHP scripting block can be
placed (almost) anywhere in an HTML document.
<html>
<!-- hello.php --> print and echo
<head><title>Hello World</title></head> for output
<body>
<p>This is going to be ignored by the PHP interpreter.</p>

<?php echo ‘<p>While this is going to be parsed.</p>‘; ?> a semicolon (;)

<p>This will also be ignored by the PHP preprocessor.</p> at the end of each
<?php print(‘<p>Hello and welcome to <i>my</i> page!</p>');
statement
?>

<?php

//This is a comment
// for a single-line comment
/* /* and */ for a large
This is
a comment
comment block.
block
*/
?>

</body>
</html>

The server executes the print and echo statements, substitutes output.
Scalars
All variables in PHP start with a $ sign symbol. A variable's type is determined by the
context in which that variable is used (i.e. there is no strong-typing in PHP).

<html><head></head>
<!-- scalars.php -->
<body> <p>
<?php
$foo = true; if ($foo) echo "It is TRUE! <br /> \n";
$txt='1234'; echo "$txt <br /> \n";
Four scalar types:
$a = 1234; echo "$a <br /> \n"; boolean
$a = -123;
echo "$a <br /> \n"; true or false
$a = 1.234;
echo "$a <br /> \n";
integer,
$a = 1.2e3; float,
echo "$a <br /> \n";
$a = 7E-10; floating point numbers
echo "$a <br /> \n";
echo 'Arnold once said: "I\'ll be back"', "<br /> \n";
string
$beer = 'Heineken'; single quoted
echo "$beer's taste is great <br /> \n";
$str = <<<EOD double quoted
Example of string
spanning multiple lines
using “heredoc” syntax.
EOD;
echo $str;
?>
</p>
</body>
</html>
Echo
• The PHP command ‘echo’ is used to output the
parameters passed to it
• The typical usage for this is to send data to the client’s
web-browser
• Syntax
• void echo (string arg1 [, string argn...])
• In practice, arguments are not passed in parentheses
since echo is a language construct rather than an
actual function
Echo example
<?php
$foo = 25; // Numerical variable
$bar = “Hello”; // String variable

echo $bar; // Outputs Hello

echo $foo,$bar; // Outputs 25Hello
echo “5x5=”,$foo; // Outputs 5x5=25
echo “5x5=$foo”; // Outputs 5x5=25
echo ‘5x5=$foo’; // Outputs 5x5=$foo
?>

• Notice how echo ‘5x5=$foo’ outputs $foo rather than replacing it with 25
• Strings in single quotes (‘ ’) are not interpreted or evaluated by PHP
• This is true for both variables and character escape-sequences (such as “\n” or
“\\”)
Arithmetic Operations
<?php
$a=15;
$b=30;
$total=$a+$b;
Print $total;
Print “<p><h1>$total</h1>”;
// total is 45
?>

• $a - $b // subtraction
• $a * $b // multiplication
• $a / $b // division
• $a += 5 // $a = $a+5 Also works for *= and /=
Concatenation
• Use a period to join strings into one.

<?php
$string1=“Hello”;
$string2=“PHP”;
$string3=$string1 . “ ” .
$string2;
Print $string3;
?>

Hello PHP
Escaping the Character
• If the string has a set of double quotation marks that must
remain visible, use the \ [backslash] before the quotation
marks to ignore and display them.

<?php
$heading=“\”Computer Science\””;
Print $heading;
?>

“Computer Science”
 PHP Control Structures
 Control Structures: Are the structures within a language that
allow us to control the flow of execution through a program or
script.
 Grouped into conditional (branching) structures (e.g. if/else) and
repetition structures (e.g. while loops).
 Example if/else if/else statement:

if ($foo == 0) {
echo ‘The variable foo is equal to 0’;
}
else if (($foo > 0) && ($foo <= 5)) {
echo ‘The variable foo is between 1 and 5’;
}
else {
echo ‘The variable foo is equal to ‘.$foo;
}
If ... Else...
• If (condition)
<?php
{ If($user==“John”)
Statements; {
Print “Hello John.”;
} }
Else Else
{
{
Print “You are not John.”;
Statement; }
} ?>

No THEN in PHP
 Conditionals: if else
Can execute a set of code depending on a condition

<html><head></head> if (condition)
<!-- if-cond.php -->
<body> code to be executed if condition
is true;
<?php
$d=date("D"); else
echo $d, “<br/>”; code to be executed if condition
if ($d=="Fri")
echo "Have a nice weekend! <br/>";
is false;
else
echo "Have a nice day! <br/>";
date() is a built-in PHP function that
$x=10;
if ($x==10) can be called with many different
{ parameters to return the date
echo "Hello<br />"; (and/or local time) in various formats
echo "Good morning<br />";
}
In this case we get a three letter
?> string for the day of the week.
</body>
</html>
While Loops
• While (condition) <?php
$count=0;
{ While($count<3)
Statements; {
Print “hello PHP. ”;
} $count += 1;
// $count = $count + 1;
// or
// $count++;
?>

hello PHP. hello PHP. hello PHP.

 Looping: for and foreach
Can loop depending on a "counter"

<?php <?php
for ($i=1; $i<=5; $i++) $a_array = array(1, 2, 3, 4);
{ foreach ($a_array as $value)
echo "Hello World!<br />"; {
} $value = $value * 2;
?> echo “$value <br/> \n”;
}
?>
loops through a block of code a
<?php
specified number of times $a_array=array("a","b","c");
foreach ($a_array as $key => $value)
{
echo $key." = ".$value."\n";
}
?>

loops through a block of code for each

element in an array
 Conditionals: switch
Can select one of many sets of lines to execute

<html><head></head>
<body>
<!–- switch-cond.php -->
<?php
$x = rand(1,5); // random integer switch (expression)
echo “x = $x <br/><br/>”; {
switch ($x) case label1:
{ code to be executed if
case 1: expression = label1;
echo "Number 1"; break;
break; case label2:
case 2: code to be executed if
echo "Number 2"; expression = label2;
break; break;
case 3: default:
echo "Number 3"; code to be executed
break; if expression is different
default: from both label1 and label2;
echo "No number between 1 and 3"; break;
break; }
}
?>

</body>
</html>
 Date Display
$datedisplay=date(“yyyy/m/d”);
2012/25/6 Print $datedisplay;
# If the date is June 25th, 2012
# It would display as 2012/25/6

$datedisplay=date(“l, F m, Y”);
Monday, June 25, 2012 Print $datedisplay;
# If the date is June 25th ,2012
# Monday, June 25th,2012
 Arrays
An array in PHP is actually an ordered map. A map is a type that maps values to keys.

<?php array() = creates arrays

$arr = array("foo" => "bar", 12 => true);
echo $arr["foo"]; // bar key = either an integer or a string.
echo $arr[12]; // 1
?> value = any PHP type.
if no key given (as in example), the PHP
<?php
array(5 => 43, 32, 56, "b" => 12); interpreter uses (maximum of the integer
array(5 => 43, 6 => 32, 7 => 56, "b" => 12); indices + 1).
?>
if an existing key, its value will be
overwritten.
<?php
$arr = array(5 => 1, 12 => 2); can set values in an array
foreach ($arr as $key => $value) { echo $key, ‘=>’,
unset() removes a
$value); } key/value pair
$arr[] = 56; // the same as $arr[13] = 56;
$arr["x"] = 42; // adds a new element array_values() makes
unset($arr[5]); // removes the element reindexing effect (indexing numerically)
unset($arr); // deletes the whole array
$a = array(1 => 'one', 2 => 'two', 3 => 'three');
unset($a[2]);
$b = array_values($a); *Find more on arrays
Month, Day & Date Format Symbols
M Jan
F January
m 01
n 1

Day of Month d 01
Day of Month J 1
Day of Week l Monday
Day of Week D Mon
 Functions
• Functions MUST be defined before then can be called
• Function headers are of the format

• Note thatfunctionName($arg_1,
function no return type is specified
$arg_2, …, $arg_n)

• Unlike variables, function names are not case sensitive

(foo(…) == Foo(…) == FoO(…))
Functions example
<?php
// This is a function
function foo($arg_1, $arg_2)
{
$arg_2 = $arg_1 * $arg_2;
  return $arg_2;
}

$result_1 = foo(12, 3); // Store the

function
echo $result_1; // Outputs 36
echo foo(12, 3); // Outputs 36
?>
 User Defined Functions
Can define a function using syntax such as the following:

<?php
function foo($arg_1, $arg_2, /* ..., */ $arg_n)
{ Can also define conditional
echo "Example function.\n";
return $retval;
functions, functions within functions,
} and recursive functions.
?>

Can return a value of any type

<?php <?php
function square($num) function small_numbers()
{ {
return $num * $num; return array (0, 1, 2);
} }
echo square(4); list ($zero, $one, $two) = small_numbers();
?> echo $zero, $one, $two;
?>

<?php
function takes_array($input)
{
echo "$input[0] + $input[1] = ", $input[0]+$input[1];
}
takes_array(array(1,2));
?>
 Variable Scope
The scope of a variable is the context within which it is defined.
<?php
$a = 1; /* limited variable scope */
function Test()
{
echo $a; The scope is local within functions,
/* reference to local scope variable */
}
and hence the value of $a is
Test(); undefined in the “echo” statement.
?>

<?php <?php
$a = 1; function Test()
$b = 2; global {
function Sum() static
static $a = 0;
{
global $a, $b;
refers to its echo $a;
does not lose
$a++;
$b = $a + $b; global } its value.
}
Sum();
version. Test1();
Test1();
echo $b; Test1();
?> ?>
 Including Files
The include() statement includes and evaluates the specified file.

vars.php <?php
<?php
function foo()
$color = 'green'; {
$fruit = 'apple'; global $color;

?> include ('vars.php‘);

test.php echo "A $color $fruit";

<?php }

echo "A $color $fruit"; // A /* vars.php is in the scope of foo() so *

* $fruit is NOT available outside of this *
include 'vars.php'; * scope. $color is because we declared it *
* as global. */
echo "A $color $fruit"; // A green apple
foo(); // A green apple
?> echo "A $color $fruit"; // A green

?>

*The scope of variables in “included” files depends on where the “include” file is added!
You can use the include_once, require, and require_once statements in similar ways.
Include Files
Include “opendb.php”;
Include “closedb.php”;
This inserts files; the code in files will be inserted into current code. This will
provide useful and protective means once you connect to a database, as
well as for other repeated functions.

Include (“footer.php”);
The file footer.php might look like:

<hr SIZE=11 NOSHADE WIDTH=“100%”>

<i>Copyright © 2001-2012 gsu</i></font><br>
<i>ALL RIGHTS RESERVED</i></font><br>
<i>URL: http://www.gsu.edu.edu</i></font><br>
 PHP - Forms
•Access to the HTTP POST and GET data is simple in PHP
•The global variables $_POST[] and $_GET[] contain the
request data
<?php
if ($_POST["submit"])
echo "<h2>You clicked Submit!</h2>";
else if ($_POST["cancel"])
echo "<h2>You clicked Cancel!</h2>";
?>
<form action="form.php" method="post">
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit">
<input type="submit" name="cancel" value="Cancel">
</form>
 WHY PHP – Sessions ?
Whenever you want to create a website that allows you to store and display
information about a user, determine which user groups a person belongs to,
utilize permissions on your website or you just want to do something cool on
your site, PHP's Sessions are vital to each of these features.

Cookies are about 30% unreliable right now and it's getting worse every day.
More and more web browsers are starting to come with security and privacy
settings and people browsing the net these days are starting to frown upon
Cookies because they store information on their local computer that they do
not want stored there.

PHP has a great set of functions that can achieve the same results of
Cookies and more without storing information on the user's computer. PHP
Sessions store the information on the web server in a location that you chose
in special files. These files are connected to the user's web browser via the
server and a special ID called a "Session ID". This is nearly 99% flawless in
operation and it is virtually invisible to the user.
 PHP - Sessions
•Sessions store their identifier in a cookie in the client’s browser
•Every page that uses session data must be proceeded by the
session_start() function
•Session variables are then set and retrieved by accessing the global
$_SESSION[]

•Save it as session.php
<?php
session_start();
if (!$_SESSION["count"])
$_SESSION["count"] = 0;
if ($_GET["count"] == "yes")
$_SESSION["count"] = $_SESSION["count"] + 1;
echo "<h1>".$_SESSION["count"]."</h1>";
?>
<a href="session.php?count=yes">Click here to count</a>
Avoid Error PHP - Sessions
PHP Example: <?php
echo "Look at this nasty error below:<br />";
session_start();
?>
Error!

Warning: Cannot send session cookie - headers already sent by

(output started at session_header_error/session_error.php:2)
in session_header_error/session_error.php on line 3
Warning: Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already
sent (output started at
session_header_error/session_error.php:2) in
session_header_error/session_error.php on line 3

PHP Example: <?php

session_start();
echo "Look at this nasty error below:";
?>
Correct
 Destroy PHP - Sessions
Destroying a Session
why it is necessary to destroy a session when the session will get destroyed
when the user closes their browser. Well, imagine that you had a session
registered called "access_granted" and you were using that to determine
if the user was logged into your site based upon a username and
password. Anytime you have a login feature, to make the users feel
better, you should have a logout feature as well. That's where this cool
function called session_destroy() comes in handy. session_destroy() will
completely demolish your session (no, the computer won't blow up or self
destruct) but it just deletes the session files and clears any trace of that
session.
NOTE: If you are using the $_SESSION superglobal array, you must clear
the array values first, then run session_destroy.
Here's how we use session_destroy():
 Destroy PHP - Sessions
<?php
// start the session
session_start();
header("Cache-control: private"); //IE 6 Fix
$_SESSION = array();
session_destroy();
echo "<strong>Step 5 - Destroy This Session </strong><br />";
if($_SESSION['name']){
    echo "The session is still active";
} else {
    echo "Ok, the session is no longer active! <br />";
    echo "<a href=\"page1.php\"><< Go Back Step 1</a>";
}
?>
 PHP Overview
• Easy learning
• Syntax Perl- and C-like syntax. Relatively easy to learn.
• Large function library
• Embedded directly into HTML
• Interpreted, no need to compile
• Open Source server-side scripting language designed specifically for
the web.
 PHP Overview (cont.)
• Conceived in 1994, now used on +10 million web
sites.
• Outputs not only HTML but can output XML, images
(JPG & PNG), PDF files and even Flash movies all
generated on the fly. Can write these files to the file
system.
• Supports a wide-range of databases (20+ODBC).
• PHP also has support for talking to other services
using protocols such as LDAP, IMAP, SNMP, NNTP,
POP3, HTTP.
 First PHP script
• Save as sample.php:
<!– sample.php -->
<html><body>
<strong>Hello World!</strong><br />
<?php
echo “<h2>Hello, World</h2>”; ?>
<?php
$myvar = "Hello World";
echo $myvar;
?>
</body></html>
Example of parameter reading

• Consider: • Call with form:

• contents of php_exec/form.php... • contents of php_exec/form01.txt...
• <html><body> <form action='php_exec/form.php'
method='post'> <ul> <li> <input
• <h1>Hi there</h1>
type='checkbox' name='foo[]'
• <? if (!isset($_POST['foo'])): ?> value='raisins'> raisins. <li> <input
• <h1>'foo' is not set</h1> type='checkbox' name='foo[]'
• <? elseif (!is_array($_POST['foo'])) : ? value='cranberries'> cranberries. <li>
> <input type='checkbox' name='foo[]'
• <h1>'foo' has one value <?= value='plums'> plums. </ul> <input
$_POST['foo'] ?> </h1> type='submit'> </form> ...end of
php_exec/form01.txt
• <? else: ?>
• Here is what it looks like:
• <h1>'foo' has multiple values <?=
join(',',$_POST['foo']) ?> </h1> •  raisins.
• •  cranberries.
<? endif ?>
• •  plums.
</body></html>
• ...end of php_exec/form.php
Example – show data in the
tables
• Function: list all tables in your database. Users can select one
of tables, and show all contents in this table.

• second.php
• showtable.php
second.php
<html><head><title>MySQL Table Viewer</title></head><body>
<?php
// change the value of $dbuser and $dbpass to your username and password
$dbhost = ‘ codd.cs…….. ';
$dbuser = 'nruan';
$dbpass = ‘*****************’;
$dbname = $dbuser;
$table = 'account';
$conn = mysql_connect($dbhost, $dbuser, $dbpass);
if (!$conn) {
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}
if (!mysql_select_db($dbname))
die("Can't select database");
second.php (cont.)
$result = mysql_query("SHOW TABLES");
if (!$result) {
die("Query to show fields from table failed");
}
$num_row = mysql_num_rows($result);
echo "<h1>Choose one table:<h1>";
echo "<form action=\"showtable.php\" method=\"POST\">";
echo "<select name=\"table\" size=\"1\" Font size=\"+2\">";
for($i=0; $i<$num_row; $i++) {
$tablename=mysql_fetch_row($result);
echo "<option value=\"{$tablename[0]}\" >{$tablename[0]}</option>";
}
echo "</select>";
echo "<div><input type=\"submit\" value=\"submit\"></div>";
echo "</form>";

mysql_free_result($result);
mysql_close($conn);
?>
</body></html>
showtable.php
<html><head>
<title>MySQL Table Viewer</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$dbhost = 'hercules.cs.kent.edu:3306';
$dbuser = 'nruan';
$dbpass = ‘**********’;
$dbname = 'nruan';
$table = $_POST[“table”];
$conn = mysql_connect($dbhost, $dbuser, $dbpass);
if (!$conn)
die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
if (!mysql_select_db($dbname))
die("Can't select database");
$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM {$table}");
if (!$result) die("Query to show fields from table failed!" . mysql_error());
showtable.php (cont.)
$fields_num = mysql_num_fields($result);
echo "<h1>Table: {$table}</h1>";
echo "<table border='1'><tr>";
// printing table headers
for($i=0; $i<$fields_num; $i++) {
$field = mysql_fetch_field($result);
echo "<td><b>{$field->name}</b></td>";
}
echo "</tr>\n";
while($row = mysql_fetch_row($result)) {
echo "<tr>";
// $row is array... foreach( .. ) puts every element
// of $row to $cell variable
foreach($row as $cell)
echo "<td>$cell</td>";
echo "</tr>\n";
}
mysql_free_result($result);
mysql_close($conn);
?>
</body></html>
Functions Covered
• mysql_connect() mysql_select_db()
• include()
• mysql_query() mysql_num_rows()
• mysql_fetch_array() mysql_close()
 PHP Information
The phpinfo() function is used to output PHP information about the version installed on the
server, parameters selected when installed, etc.

INFO_GENERAL The configuration line,

<html><head></head> php.ini location,
<!– info.php build date,
<body> Web Server,
<?php System and more
// Show all PHP information
phpinfo(); INFO_CREDITS PHP 4 credits
?> INFO_CONFIGURATION Local and master values
<?php for php directives
// Show only the general information
phpinfo(INFO_GENERAL); INFO_MODULES Loaded modules
?>
</body> INFO_ENVIRONMENT Environment variable
</html> information
INFO_VARIABLES All predefined variables
from EGPCS

INFO_LICENSE PHP license information

INFO_ALL Shows all of the above (default)

Server Variables
The $_SERVER array variable is a reserved variable that contains all server information.

<html><head></head>
<body>

<?php
echo "Referer: " . $_SERVER["HTTP_REFERER"] . "<br />";
echo "Browser: " . $_SERVER["HTTP_USER_AGENT"] . "<br />";
echo "User's IP address: " . $_SERVER["REMOTE_ADDR"];
?>

<?php
echo "<br/><br/><br/>";
echo "<h2>All information</h2>";
foreach ($_SERVER as $key => $value) $_SERVER info
{
echo $key . " = " . $value . "<br/>"; on php.net
}
?>

</body>
</html>

The $_SERVER is a super global variable, i.e. it's available in all scopes of a PHP script.
File Open
The fopen("file_name","mode") function is used to open files in PHP.

r Read only. r+ Read/Write.

w Write only. w+ Read/Write.
a Append. a+ Read/Append.
x Create and open for write only. x+ Create and open for read/write.

<?php For w, and a, if no file exists, it tries to create it

$fh=fopen("welcome.txt","r"); (use with caution, i.e. check that this is the case,
?>
otherwise you’ll overwrite an existing file).
For x if a file exists, this function fails (and
<?php returns 0).
if
( !($fh=fopen("welcome.txt","r")) )
exit("Unable to open file!"); If the fopen() function is unable to open
?> the specified file, it returns 0 (false).
File Workings
fclose() closes a file. feof() determines if the end is true.
fgetc() reads a single character fgets() reads a line of data
fwrite(), fputs ()
file() reads entire file into an array
writes a string with and without \n
<?php <?php
$myFile = "welcome.txt"; $myFile = "welcome.txt";
if (!($fh=fopen($myFile,'r'))) $fh = fopen($myFile, 'r');
exit("Unable to open file."); $theData = fgets($fh);
while (!feof($fh)) fclose($fh);
{ echo $theData;
$x=fgetc($fh); ?>
echo $x;
}
fclose($fh); <?php
?> $myFile = "testFile.txt";
$fh = fopen($myFile, 'a') or
die("can't open file");
<?php $stringData = "New Stuff 1\n";
$lines = file('welcome.txt'); fwrite($fh, $stringData);
foreach ($lines as $l_num => $line) $stringData = "New Stuff 2\n";
{ fwrite($fh, $stringData);
echo "Line #{$l_num}:“ . fclose($fh);
$line.”<br/>”; ?>
}
?>
Form Handling
Any form element is automatically available via one of the built-in PHP variables (provided that element has a
“name” defined with it).

<html>
<-- form.html -->
<body>
<form action="welcome.php" method="POST">
Enter your name: <input type="text" name="name" /> <br/>
Enter your age: <input type="text" name="age" /> <br/>
<input type="submit" /> <input type="reset" />
</form>
</body>
</html>

<html>
<!–- welcome.php --> $_POST
<body> contains all POST data.
Welcome <?php echo $_POST["name"].”.”; ?><br />
You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old! $_GET
</body>
contains all GET data.
</html>
 Cookie Workings
setcookie(name,value,expire,path,domain) creates cookies.
<?php
setcookie("uname", $_POST["name"], time()+36000);
?>
<html>
<body>
<p>
NOTE:
Dear <?php echo $_POST["name"] ?>, a cookie was set on this setcookie() must appear
page! The cookie will be active when the client has sent the
cookie back to the server. BEFORE <html> (or any
</p>
</body>
output) as it’s part of the
</html> header information sent
with the page.

<html>
<body> $_COOKIE
<?php
if ( isset($_COOKIE["uname"]) )
contains all COOKIE data.
echo "Welcome " . $_COOKIE["uname"] . "!<br />";
else isset()
echo "You are not logged in!<br />"; finds out if a cookie is set
?>
</body>
</html>
use the cookie name as a
variable
Getting Time and Date
date() and time () formats a time or a date.

<?php
//Prints something like: Monday
echo date("l");

//Like: Monday 15th of January 2003 05:51:38 AM

date() returns a string
echo date("l jS \of F Y h:i:s A"); formatted according to the
specified format.
//Like: Monday the 15th
echo date("l \\t\h\e jS");
?>

<?php
$nextWeek = time() + (7 * 24 * 60 * 60);
// 7 days; 24 hours; 60 mins; 60secs time() returns
echo 'Now: '. date('Y-m-d') ."\n";
echo 'Next Week: '. date('Y-m-d', $nextWeek) ."\n";
current Unix
?> timestamp
 Required Fields in User-Entered Data
A multipurpose script which asks users for some basic contact information and then checks to
see that the required fields have been entered.
<html>
<!-- form_checker.php COMP519 -->
<head>
<title>PHP Form example</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
/*declare some functions*/

Print Function
function print_form($f_name, $l_name, $email, $os)
{
?>

<form action="form_checker.php" method=“POST">

First Name: <input type="text" name="f_name" value="<?php echo $f_name?>“ /> <br/>
Last Name <b>*</b>:<input type="text" name="l_name" value="<?php echo $l_name?>“ /> <br/>
Email Address <b>*</b>:<input type="text" name="email" value="<?php echo $email?>“ /> <br/>
Operating System: <input type="text" name="os" value="<?php echo $os?>“ /> <br/><br/>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit“ /> <input type=“reset“ />
</form>

<?php
} //** end of “print_from” function
Check and Confirm Functions
function check_form($f_name, $l_name, $email, $os)
{
if (!$l_name||!$email){
echo "<h3>You are missing some required fields!</h3>";
print_form($f_name, $l_name, $email, $os);
}
else{
confirm_form($f_name, $l_name, $email, $os);
}
} //** end of “check_form” function

function confirm_form($f_name, $l_name, $email, $os)

{
?>

<h2>Thanks! Below is the information you have sent to us.</h2>

<h3>Contact Info</h3>

<?php
echo "Name: $f_name $l_name <br/>";
echo "Email: $email <br/>";
echo "OS: $os";
} //** end of “confirm_form” function
 Main Program
/*Main Program*/

if (!$_POST["submit"])
{
?>

<h3>Please enter your information</h3>

<p>Fields with a "<b>*</b>" are required.</p>

<?php
print_form("","","","");
}
else{
check_form($_POST["f_name"],$_POST["l_name"],$_POST["email"],$_POST["os"]);
}
?>

</body>
</html>
Recommended Texts for Learning
PHP
• Larry Ullman’s books from the Visual Quickpro series
• PHP & MySQL for Dummies
• Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL: From Novice to Professional by W.
Jason Gilmore
• (This is more advanced and dense than the others, but great to read
once you’ve finished the easier books. One of the best
definition/description of object oriented programming I’ve read)
 PHP References
http://www.php.net <-- php home page
http://www.phpbuilder.com/
http://www.devshed.com/
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/
http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/
http://geocities.com/stuprojects/ChatroomDescription.htm
http://www.academic.marist.edu/~kbhkj/chatroom/chatroom.htm
http://www.aus-etrade.com/Scripts/php.php
http://www.codeproject.com/asp/CDIChatSubmit.asp
http://www.php.net/downloads <-- php download page
http://www.php.net/manual/en/install.windows.php <-- php
installation manual
http://php.resourceindex.com/ <-- PHP resources like sample
programs, text book references, etc.
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/forum17.html  php
forums