Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL and Apache All in One

Julie Meloni is the technical director for i2i Interactive, a multimedia company located in Campbell, CA. She has been developing Web-based applications since the early days of the Web, and is the author of several books and articles on Web-based programming languages and database topics, such as Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 24 Hours and Blogging in a Snap.

Introduction

Who Should Read This Book?

How This Book Is Organized

Conventions Used in This Book

Part I: Laying the Groundwork

Chapter 1: Installation QuickStart Guide

Linux/UNIX Installation

Installing MySQL

Installing Apache

Installing PHP

Windows Installation

Installing MySQL

Installing Apache

Installing PHP

Mac OS X Installation

Installing MySQL

Installing PHP

Troubleshooting

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring MySQL

Current and Future Versions of MySQL

How to Get MySQL

Installing MySQL on Linux/UNIX

Installing MySQL on Mac OS X

Installing MySQL on Windows

Troubleshooting Your Installation

Basic Security Guidelines

Starting MySQL

Securing Your MySQL Connection

Introducing the MySQL Privilege System

The Two-Step Authentication Process

Working with User Privileges

Adding Users

Removing Privileges

Chapter 3: Installing and Configuring Apache

Current and Future Versions of Apache

Choosing the Appropriate Installation Method

Building from Source

Installing a Binary

Installing Apache on Linux/UNIX

Downloading the Apache Source Code

Uncompressing the Source Code

Preparing to Build Apache

Building and Installing Apache

Installing Apache on Mac OS X

Installing Apache on Windows

Apache Configuration File Structure

Directives

Containers

Conditional Evaluation

The ServerRoot Directive

Per-Directory Configuration Files

Apache Log Files

The access_log File

The error_log File

Additional Files

Apache-Related Commands

Apache Server Binary

Apache Control Script

Starting Apache for the First Time

Check Your Configuration File

Starting Apache

Troubleshooting

Already an Existing Web Server

No Permission to Bind to Port

Access Denied

Wrong Group Settings

Chapter 4: Installing and Configuring PHP

Current and Future Versions of PHP

Building PHP on Linux/UNIX with Apache

Additional Linux/UNIX Configuration Options

Integrating PHP with Apache on Linux/UNIX

Installing PHP on Mac OS X

Installing PHP on Windows

Integrating PHP with Apache on Windows

php.ini Basics

Testing Your Installation

Getting Installation Help

The Basics of PHP Scripts

Beginning and Ending a Block of PHP Statements

The echo Statement and print() Function

Combining HTML and PHP

Adding Comments to PHP Code

Part II: PHP Language Structure

Chapter 5: The Building Blocks of PHP

Variables

Globals and Superglobals

Data Types

Changing Type with settype()

Changing Type by Casting

Why Test Type?

Operators and Expressions

The Assignment Operator

Arithmetic Operators

The Concatenation Operator

Combined Assignment Operators

Automatically Incrementing and Decrementing
an Integer Variable

Comparison Operators

Creating Complex Test Expressions with the Logical Operators

Operator Precedence

Constants

Predefined Constants

Chapter 6: Flow Control Functions in PHP

Switching Flow

The if Statement

Using the else Clause with the if Statement

Using the elseif Clause with the if Statement

The switch Statement

Using the ? Operator

Loops

The while Statement

The do...while Statement

The for Statement

Breaking Out of Loops with the break Statement

Skipping an Iteration with the continue Statement

Nesting Loops

Code Blocks and Browser Output

Chapter 7: Working with Functions

What Is a Function?

Calling Functions

Defining a Function

Returning Values from User-Defined Functions

Variable Scope

Accessing Variables with the global Statement

Saving State Between Function Calls with the static Statement

More About Arguments

Setting Default Values for Arguments

Passing Variable References to Functions

Testing for the Existence of a Function

Chapter 8: Working with Arrays

What Are Arrays?

Creating Arrays

Creating Associative Arrays

Creating Multidimensional Arrays

Some Array-Related Functions

Chapter 9: Working with Objects

Creating an Object

Properties of Objects

Object Methods

Constructors

Object Inheritance

Part III: Getting Involved with the Code

Chapter 10: Working with Strings, Dates, and Time

Formatting Strings with PHP

Working with printf()

Specifying a Field Width

Argument Swapping

Storing a Formatted String

Investigating Strings in PHP

A Note About Indexing Strings

Finding the Length of a String with strlen()

Finding a Substring Within a String with strstr()

Finding the Position of a Substring with strpos()

Extracting Part of a String with substr()

Tokenizing a String with strtok()

Manipulating Strings with PHP

Cleaning Up a String with trim(), ltrim(), and strip_tags()

Replacing a Portion of a String Using substr_replace()

Replacing Substrings Using str_replace

Converting Case

Wrapping Text with wordwrap() and nl2br()

Breaking Strings into Arrays with explode()

Using Date and Time Functions in PHP

Getting the Date with time()

Converting a Time Stamp with getdate()

Converting a Time Stamp with date()

Creating Time Stamps with mktime()

Testing a Date with checkdate()

Other String, Date, and Time Functions

Chapter 11: Working with Forms

Creating a Simple Input Form

Accessing Form Input with User-Defined Arrays

Combining HTML and PHP Code on a Single Page

Using Hidden Fields to Save State

Redirecting the User

Sending Mail on Form Submission

System Configuration for the mail() Function

Creating the Form

Creating the Script to Send the Mail

Formatting Your Mail with HTML

Working with File Uploads

Creating the File Upload Form

Creating the File Upload Script

Chapter 12: Working with Cookies and User Sessions

Introducing Cookies

The Anatomy of a Cookie

Setting a Cookie with PHP

Deleting a Cookie

Session Function Overview

Starting a Session

Working with Session Variables

Passing Session IDs in the Query String

Destroying Sessions and Unsetting Variables

Using Sessions in an Environment with Registered Users

Working with Registered Users

Working with User Preferences

Chapter 13: Working with Files and Directories

Including Files with include()

Returning a Value from an Included Document

Using include() Within Control Structures

Using include_once()

The include_path Directive

Validating Files

Checking for Existence with file_exists()

A File or a Directory?

Checking the Status of a File

Determining File Size with filesize()

Getting Date Information About a File

Creating a Function That Performs Multiple File Tests

Creating and Deleting Files

Opening a File for Writing, Reading, or Appending

Reading from Files

Reading Lines from a File with fgets() and feof()

Reading Arbitrary Amounts of Data from a File with fread()

Reading Characters from a File with fgetc()

Writing or Appending to a File

Writing to a File with fwrite() or fputs()

Locking Files with flock()

Working with Directories

Creating Directories with mkdir()

Removing a Directory with rmdir()

Opening a Directory for Reading with opendir()

Reading the Contents of a Directory with readdir()

Opening Pipes to and from Processes Using popen()

Running Commands with exec()

Running Commands with system() or passthru()

Chapter 14: Working with Images

Understanding the Image-Creation Process

A Word About Color

Necessary Modifications to PHP

Obtaining Additional Libraries

Drawing a New Image

Drawing Shapes and Lines

Using a Color Fill

Getting Fancy with Pie Charts

Modifying Existing Images

Image Creation from User Input

Part IV: PHP and MySQL Integration

Chapter 15: Understanding the Database Design Process

The Importance of Good Database Design

Types of Table Relationships

One-to-One Relationships

One-to-Many Relationships

Many-to-Many Relationships

Understanding Normalization

Problems with the Flat Table

First Normal Form

Second Normal Form

Third Normal Form

Following the Design Process

Chapter 16: Learning Basic SQL Commands

Learning the MySQL Data Types

Numeric Data Types

Date and Time Types

String Types

Learning the Table Creation Syntax

Using the INSERT Command

A Closer Look at INSERT

Using the SELECT Command

Ordering SELECT Results

Limiting Your Results

Using WHERE in Your Queries

Using Operators in WHERE Clauses

String Comparison Using LIKE

Selecting from Multiple Tables

Using JOIN

Using Subqueries

Using the UPDATE Command to Modify Records

Conditional UPDATEs

Using Existing Column Values with UPDATE

Using the REPLACE Command

Using the DELETE Command

Conditional DELETE

Frequently Used String Functions in MySQL

Length and Concatenation Functions

Trimming and Padding Functions

Location and Position Functions

Substring Functions

String Modification Functions

Using Date and Time Functions in MySQL

Working with Days

Working with Months and Years

Working with Weeks

Working with Hours, Minutes, and Seconds

Formatting Dates and Times with MySQL

Performing Date Arithmetic with MySQL

Special Functions and Conversion Features

Chapter 17: Using Transactions and Stored Procedures in MySQL

What Are Transactions?

Basic Syntax Used in Transactions

Working Example Using Transactions

What Are Stored Procedures?

Basic Syntax of Stored Procedures

Chapter 18: Interacting with MySQL Using PHP

MySQL Versus MySQLi Functions

Connecting to MySQL with PHP

Making a Connection

Executing Queries

Retrieving Error Messages

Working with MySQL Data

Inserting Data with PHP

Retrieving Data with PHP

Additional MySQL Functions in PHP

Part V: Basic Projects

Chapter 19: Managing a Simple Mailing List

Developing the Subscription Mechanism

Creating the subscribers Table

Creating the Subscription Form

Developing the Mailing Mechanism

Chapter 20: Creating an Online Address Book

Planning and Creating the Database Tables

Creating a Menu

Creating the Record Addition Mechanism

Viewing Records

Creating the Record Deletion Mechanism

Adding Subentries to a Record

Chapter 21: Creating a Simple Discussion Forum

Designing the Database Tables

Creating the Input Forms and Scripts

Displaying the Topic List

Displaying the Posts in a Topic

Adding Posts to a Topic

Chapter 22: Creating an Online Storefront

Planning and Creating the Database Tables

Inserting Records into the store_categories Table

Inserting Records into the store_items Table

Inserting Records into the store_item_size Table

Inserting Records into the store_item_color Table

Displaying Categories of Items

Displaying Items

Chapter 23: Creating a Shopping Cart Mechanism

Planning and Creating the Database Tables

Integrating the Cart with Your Storefront

Adding Items to Your Cart

Viewing the Cart

Removing Items from Your Cart

Payment Methods and the Checkout Sequence

Creating the Checkout Form

Performing the Checkout Actions

Chapter 24: Creating a Simple Calendar

Building a Simple Display Calendar

Checking User Input

Building the HTML Form

Creating the Calendar Table

Adding Events to the Calendar

Creating a Calendar Library

Chapter 25: Restricting Access to Your Applications

Authentication Overview

Client Authentication

Apache Authentication Module Functionality

File-Based Authentication

Database File-Based Access Control

Using Apache for Access Control

Implementing Access Rules

Evaluating Access Rules

Combining Apache Access Methods

Limiting Access Based on HTTP Methods

Restricting Access Based on Cookie Values

Creating the Authorized Users Table

Creating the Login Form and Script

Testing for the auth Cookie

Chapter 26: Logging and Monitoring Web Server Activity

Standard Apache Access Logging

Deciding What to Log

Logging Accesses to Files

Logging Accesses to a Program

Standard Apache Error Logging

Logging Errors to a File

Logging Errors to a Program

The syslog Daemon Argument

The LogLevel Directive

Managing Apache Logs

Resolving Hostnames

Log Rotation

Merging and Splitting Logs

Log Analysis

Monitoring Error Logs

Logging Custom Information to a Database

Creating the Database Table

Creating the PHP Code Snippet

Creating Sample Reports

Chapter 27: Application Localization

About Internationalization and Localization

About Character Sets

Environment Modifications

Configuration Changes to Apache

Configuration Changes to PHP

Configuration Changes to MySQL

Creating a Localized Page Structure

Chapter 28: Working with XML

What Is XML?

Basic XML Document Structure

Accessing XML in PHP Using DOM Functions

Accessing XML in PHP Using SimpleXML Functions

Part VI: Administration and Fine-tuning

Chapter 29: Apache Performance Tuning and Virtual Hosting

Scalability Issues

Operating System Limits

Performance-Related Apache Settings

Load Testing with ApacheBench

Proactive Performance Tuning

Mapping Files to Memory

Distributing the Load

Caching

Reduce Transmitted Data

Network Settings

Preventing Abuse

Robots

Implementing Virtual Hosting

IP-Based Virtual Hosting

Name-Based Virtual Hosts

Mass Virtual Hosting

Chapter 30: Setting Up a Secure Web Server

The Need for Security

The SSL Protocol

Addressing the Need for Confidentiality

Addressing the Need for Integrity

Addressing the Need for Authentication

Obtaining and Installing SSL Tools

OpenSSL

The mod_ssl Apache Module

Managing Certificates

Creating a Key Pair

Creating a Certificate Signing Request

Creating a Self-Signed Certificate

SSL Configuration

Starting the Server

Chapter 31: Optimizing and Tuning MySQL

Building an Optimized Platform

Using the benchmark() Function

MySQL Startup Options

Key Startup Parameters

Optimizing Your Table Structure

Optimizing Your Queries

Using the FLUSH Command

Using the SHOW Command

Retrieving Information About Databases and Tables

Retrieving Table Structure Information

Retrieving System Status

Chapter 32: Software Upgrades

Staying in the Loop

When to Upgrade

Upgrading MySQL

Upgrading Apache

Modifying Apache Without Upgrading

Upgrading PHP

Using PECL and PEAR to Extend PHP

Index