PHP - Introduction to PHP

Introduction toIntroduction to
PHPPHP

What we'll coverWhat we'll cover
• A short history of php
• Parsing
• Variables
• Arrays
• Operators
• Functions
• Control Structures
• External Data Files

BackgroundBackground
• PHP is server side scripting system
o PHP stands for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor"
o Syntax based on Perl, Java, and C
o Very good for creating dynamic content
o Powerful, but somewhat risky!
o If you want to focus on one system for dynamic content, this is a good
one to choose

About ZendAbout Zend
• A Commercial Enterprise
• Zend provides Zend engine for PHP for free
• They provide other products and services for a fee
o Server side caching and other optimizations
o Encoding in Zend's intermediate format to protect source
code
o IDE-a developer's package with tools to make life easier
o Support and training services
• Zend's web site is a great resource

PHP 5 ArchitecturePHP 5 Architecture
• Zend engine as parser (Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski)
• SAPI is a web server abstraction layer
• PHP components now self contained (ODBC, Java,
LDAP, etc.)
• This structure is a good general design for software
(compare to OSI model, and middleware applications)

PHP ScriptsPHP Scripts
• Typically file ends in .php--this is set by the web server
configuration
• Separated in files with the <?php ?> tag
• php commands can make up an entire file, or can be
contained in html--this is a choice….
• Program lines end in ";" or you get an error
• Server recognizes embedded script and executes
• Result is passed to browser, source isn't visible

<?php $myvar = "Hello World!";
echo $myvar;
?>

ParsingParsing
• We've talk about how the browser can read a text file and
process it, that's a basic parsing method
• Parsing involves acting on relevant portions of a file and
ignoring others
• Browsers parse web pages as they load
• Web servers with server side technologies like php parse web
pages as they are being passed out to the browser
• Parsing does represent work, so there is a cost

Two WaysTwo Ways
• You can embed sections of php inside html:
• Or you can call html from php:
<BODY>

<?php $myvar = "Hello World!";
echo $myvar;
</BODY>
<?php
echo "<html><head><title>Howdy</title>
…
?>

What do we know already?What do we know already?
• Much of what we learned about javascript holds true in php
(but not all!), and other languages as well
$name = "bil";
echo "Howdy, my name is $name";
echo "What will $name be in this line?";
echo 'What will $name be in this line?';
echo 'What's wrong with this line?';
if ($name == "bil")
{
// Hey, what's this?
echo "got a match!";
}

VariablesVariables
• Typed by context (but one can force type), so it's loose
• Begin with "$" (unlike javascript!)
• Assigned by value
o $foo = "Bob"; $bar = $foo;
• Assigned by reference, this links vars
o $bar = &$foo;
• Some are preassigned, server and env vars
o For example, there are PHP vars, eg. PHP_SELF,
HTTP_GET_VARS
00

phpinfo()phpinfo()
• The phpinfo() function shows the php environment
• Use this to read system and server variables, setting stored in
php.ini, versions, and modules
• Notice that many of these data are in arrays
• This is the first script you should write…

Variable VariablesVariable Variables
• Using the value of a variable as the name of a second
variable)
$a = "hello";
$$a = "world";
• Thus:
echo "$a ${$a}";
• Is the same as:
echo "$a $hello";
• But $$a echoes as "$hello"….

OperatorsOperators
• Arithmetic (+, -, *, /, %) and String (.)Arithmetic (+, -, *, /, %) and String (.)
• Assignment (=) and combined assignmentAssignment (=) and combined assignment
$a = 3;
$a += 5; // sets $a to 8;
$b = "Hello ";
$b .= "There!"; // sets $b to "Hello There!";
• Bitwise (&, |, ^, ~, <<, >>)Bitwise (&, |, ^, ~, <<, >>)
o $a ^ $b(Xor: Bits that are set in $a or $b but not
both are set.)
o ~ $a (Not: Bits that are set in $a are not set,
and vice versa.)
• Comparison (==, ===, !=, !==, <, >, <=, >=)Comparison (==, ===, !=, !==, <, >, <=, >=)

CoercionCoercion
• Just like javascript, php is loosely typed
• Coercion occurs the same way
• If you concatenate a number and string, the number
becomesa string

Operators: The MovieOperators: The Movie
• Error Control (@)Error Control (@)
o When this precedes a command, errors generated areWhen this precedes a command, errors generated are
ignored (allows custom messages)ignored (allows custom messages)
• Execution (` is similar to the shell_exec() function)Execution (` is similar to the shell_exec() function)
o You can pass a string to the shell for execution:You can pass a string to the shell for execution:
$output = `ls -al`;$output = `ls -al`;
$output = shell_exec("ls -al");$output = shell_exec("ls -al");
o This is one reason to be careful about user setThis is one reason to be careful about user set
variables!variables!
• Incrementing/DecrementingIncrementing/Decrementing
++$a (Increments by one, then returns $a.)++$a (Increments by one, then returns $a.)
$a++ (Returns $a, then increments $a by one.)$a++ (Returns $a, then increments $a by one.)
--$a--$a (Decrements $a by one, then returns(Decrements $a by one, then returns
$a.)$a.)
$a--$a-- (Returns $a, then decrements $a by(Returns $a, then decrements $a by
one.)one.)

Son of the Valley of OperatorsSon of the Valley of Operators
• Logical
$a and $b And True if both $a and $b are true.
$a or $b Or True if either $a or $b is true.
$a xor $b Xor True if either $a or $b is true,
but not both.
! $a Not True if $a is not true.
$a && $b And True if both $a and $b are true.
$a || $b Or True if either $a or $b is true.
• The two ands and ors have different precedence rules, "and"
and "or" are lower precedence than "&&" and "||"
• Use parentheses to resolve precedence problems or just to be
clearer

Control StructuresControl Structures
• Wide Variety available
o if, else, elseif
o while, do-while
o for, foreach
o break, continue, switch
o require, include, require_once, include_once

Control StructuresControl Structures
• Mostly parallel to what we've covered already in javascript
• if, elseif, else, while, for, foreach, break and continue

SwitchSwitch
• Switch, which we've seen, is very useful
• These two do the same
things….
if ($i == 0) {
echo "i equals 0";
} elseif ($i == 1) {
echo "i equals 1";
} elseif ($i == 2) {
echo "i equals 2";
}
switch ($i) {
case 0:
echo "i equals 0";
break;
case 1:
echo "i equals 1";
break;
case 2:
echo "i equals 2";
break;
}

Nesting FilesNesting Files
• require(), include(), include_once(), require_once() are used torequire(), include(), include_once(), require_once() are used to
bring in an external filebring in an external file
• This lets you use the same chunk of code in a number of pages,This lets you use the same chunk of code in a number of pages,
or read other kinds of files into your programor read other kinds of files into your program
• Be VERY careful of using these anywhere close to user input--if aBe VERY careful of using these anywhere close to user input--if a
hacker can specify the file to be included, that file will executehacker can specify the file to be included, that file will execute
within your script, with whatever rights your script has (readfile iswithin your script, with whatever rights your script has (readfile is
a good alternative if you just want the file, but don't need toa good alternative if you just want the file, but don't need to
execute it)execute it)
• Yes, Virginia, remote files can be specifiedYes, Virginia, remote files can be specified

Example: A Dynamic TableExample: A Dynamic Table
• I hate writing html tables
• You can build one in php
• This example uses pictures and builds a table with pictures in
one column, and captions in another
• The captions are drawn from text files
• I'm using tables, but you could use css for placement easily…

ArraysArrays
• You can create an array with the array function, or use the explode
function (this is very useful when reading files into web programs…)
$my_array = array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
$pizza = "piece1 piece2 piece3 piece4 piece5 piece6";
$pieces = explode(" ", $pizza);
• An array is simply a variable representing a keyed list
o A list of values or variables
o If a variable, that var can also be an array
o Each variable in the list has a key
o The key can be a number or a text label

ArraysArrays
• Arrays are lists, or lists of lists, or list of lists of lists, you get the idea--
Arrays can be multi-dimensional
• Array elements can be addressed by either by number or by name
(strings)
• If you want to see the structure of an array, use the print_r function
to recursively print an array inside of pre tags

Text versus KeysText versus Keys
• Text keys work like number keys (well, really, it's the other
way around--number keys are just labels)
• You assign and call them the same way, except you have
to assign the label to the value or variables, eg:
echo "$my_text_array[third]";
$my_text_array = array(first=>1, second=>2, third=>3);
echo "<pre>";
print_r($my_text_array);
echo "</pre>";

Walking ArraysWalking Arrays
• Use a loop, eg a foreach loop to walk through an array
• while loops also work for arrays with numeric keys--just set
a variable for the loop, and make sure to increment that
variable within the loop
colors = array('red', 'blue', 'green', 'yellow');
oreach ($colors as $color) {
echo "Do you like $color?n";

05_arrays.php05_arrays.php
• You can't echo an array
directly…
o You can walk through an echo or
print() line by line
o You can use print_r(), this will show
you the structure of complex
arrays--that output is to the right,
and it's handy for learning the
structure of an array
Array
(
[1] => Array
(
[sku] => A13412
[quantity] => 10
[item] => Whirly Widgets
[price] => .50
)
[2] => Array
(
[sku] => A43214
[quantity] => 142
[item] => Widget Nuts
[price] => .05
)

Multidimensional ArraysMultidimensional Arrays
• A one dimensional array is a list, a spreadsheet or other columnar data is
two dimensional…
• Basically, you can make an array of arrays
$multiD = array
(
"fruits" => array("myfavorite" => "orange", "yuck" => "banana",
"yum" => "apple"),
"numbers" => array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6),
"holes" => array("first", 5 => "second", "third")
);
• The structure can be built array by array, or declared with a single
statement
• You can reference individual elements by nesting:
echo "Yes, we have no " . $multiD["fruits"]["yuck"] . "
(ok by me).";
• print_r() will show the entire structure, but don’t forget the pre tags

Getting Data into arraysGetting Data into arrays
• You can directly read data into individual array slots via a
direct assignment:
$pieces[5] = "poulet resistance";
• From a file:
o Use the file command to read a delimited file (the delimiter can be any
unique char):
$pizza = file(./our_pizzas.txt)
o Use explode to create an array from a line within a loop:
$pieces = explode(" ", $pizza);

The SurfaceThe Surface
• The power of php lies partially in the wealth of functions---for
example, the 40+ array functions
o array_flip() swaps keys for values
o array_count_values() returns an associative array of all
values in an array, and their frequency
o array_rand() pulls a random element
o array_unique() removes duppies
o array_walk() applies a user defined function to each
element of an array (so you can dice all of a dataset)
o count() returns the number of elements in an array
o array_search() returns the key for the first match in an array

Using External DataUsing External Data
• You can build dynamic pages with just the information in a
php script
• But where php shines is in building pages out of external data
sources, so that the web pages change when the data does
• Most of the time, people think of a database like MySQL as
the backend, but you can also use text or other files, LDAP,
pretty much anything….

Standard data filesStandard data files
• Normally you'd use a tab delimited file, but you can use
pretty much anything as a delimiter
• Files get read as arrays, one line per slot
• Remember each line ends in n, you should clean this
up, and be careful about white space
• Once the file is read, you can use explode to break the
lines into fields, one at a time, in a loop….

Standard data filesStandard data files
• You can use trim() to clean white space and returns
instead of str_replace()
• Notice that this is building an array of arrays
$items=file("./mydata.txt");$items=file("./mydata.txt");
foreach ($items as $line)foreach ($items as $line)
{{
$line = str_replace("n", "", $line);$line = str_replace("n", "", $line);
$line = explode("t", $line);$line = explode("t", $line);
// do something with $line array// do something with $line array
}}

Useful string functionsUseful string functions
• str_replace()
• trim(), ltrim(), rtrim()
• implode(), explode()
• addslashes(), stripslashes()
• htmlentities(), html_entity_decode(), htmlspecialchars()
• striptags()

06_more_arrays.php06_more_arrays.php
• This is a simple script to read and process a text file
• The data file is tab delimited and has the column titles as the
first line of the file

How it worksHow it works
• The script uses the first line to build text labels for the
subsequent lines, so that the array elements can be called by
the text label
o If you add a new column, this script compensates
o Text based arrays are not position dependent…
o This script could be the basis of a nice function
• There are two version of this, calling two different datafiles,
but that's the only difference

06a_more_arrays.php06a_more_arrays.php
• This version shows how to dynamically build a table in the html output

Alternative syntaxAlternative syntax
• Applies to if, while, for, foreach, and switch
• Change the opening brace to a colon
• Change the closing brace to an endxxx statement
<?php if ($a == 5): ?>
A is equal to 5
<?php endif; ?>
<?php
if ($a == 5):
echo "a equals 5";
echo "...";
else:
echo "a is not 5";
endif;
?>

ThankThank You !!!You !!!
For More Information click below link:
Follow Us on:
http://vibranttechnologies.co.in/php-classes-in-mumbai.htmlhttp://vibranttechnologies.co.in/php-classes-in-mumbai.html

PHP - Introduction to PHP

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to PHP - Introduction to PHP (20)

More from Vibrant Technologies & Computers (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

PHP - Introduction to PHP