PHP & MySQL¶

Learn server-side programming and database management.

Quick Start¶

New to PHP? Start here:

Laracasts: PHP for Beginners (2023) - Complete video series
Laracasts: OOP Principles in PHP (2024) - Object-oriented programming
PHP 8 Tutorial - Interactive tutorials

Database:

Laracasts: MySQL Database Design - Video series
MySQL Tutorial - PHP + MySQL integration

Required Tools Setup¶

Install these before starting: - Composer - PHP dependency manager (Download) - Laravel Herd - Local PHP development environment (Download) - MySQL or MariaDB - Database server

Database Tools (choose one):¶

PHPMyAdmin - Web-based database management
TablePlus - Modern database GUI (Mac/Windows/Linux)
MySQL Workbench - Official MySQL tool
Sequel Ace - Mac-only database management

# Check installations
php --version
composer --version
mysql --version

Core Learning¶

PHP Fundamentals¶

PHP Language Reference - Official documentation
PHP Tutorial (TutorialsPoint) - Comprehensive guide
PHP Namespaces - Code organization
PHP Cheatsheet - Quick reference

Best Practices¶

Clean Code PHP - Write maintainable code

MySQL¶

MySQL Tutorial (TutorialsPoint) - Complete database guide

Practice Problems¶

Problem 1: Debug the Log Function 🐛¶

Bug: This code doesn't write to the file. Find the issue!

<?php
function writeLog($message) {
    $file = fopen('log.txt', 'r');  // ⚠️ Bug here!
    fwrite($file, $message . PHP_EOL);
    fclose($file);
}

writeLog('This is a test log.');
?>

💡 Hint

Check the file mode in fopen(). What does 'r' do vs what you need?

Problem 2: Fix Email Validation 🔍¶

Bug: Empty emails pass validation. We need to check if the key exists, but allow empty values.

<?php
$data = array(
    'user' => array(
        'name'  => 'Alice',
        'email' => '',  // Empty but key exists
    ),
);

// This should pass since key exists
if (!empty($data['user']['email'])) {  // ⚠️ Bug here!
    echo 'Email key is provided.' . "\n";
} else {
    echo 'Email key is missing.' . "\n";
}
?>

💡 Hint

Use isset() to check if a key exists, regardless of its value.

🤔 Deep Dive Topics¶

Master these PHP concepts:

Type Juggling - How PHP handles type conversions
Session Management - session_start(), $_SESSION, session_destroy()
PDO vs mysqli - Database abstraction vs MySQL-specific
Regular Expressions - preg_match(), preg_replace(), preg_split()
Error Handling - try/catch, throw, custom exceptions
Autoloading - PSR-4, Composer autoloader

Test Your Knowledge¶

Take the PHP & MySQL Quiz →

Goal: Score 70% or higher