PHP Basics: in This Lesson of The PHP Tutorial, You Will Learn..

PHP Basics
In this lesson of the PHP tutorial, you will learn...
1. How PHP works.

2. To write a simple PHP page.
3. To understand and work with simple PHP variables.
4. To use PHP operators.
5. To pass values from one page to another via the URL.
How PHP Works

When a user navigates in her browser to a page that ends with a .php
extension, the request is sent to a web server, which directs the request to
the PHP interpreter.
As shown in the diagram above, the PHP interpreter processes the page,
communicating with file systems, databases, and email servers as
necessary, and then delivers a web page to the web server to return to the
browser.
The php.ini File
Before we look at PHP syntax, we should briefly mention the php.ini file. This
is a plain text file that is used to configure PHP. When the PHP interpreter is
started, it reads the php.ini file to determine what settings to use. We will
mention this file from time to time throughout the course, but for now, it is
enough that you are aware of its existence.
Basic PHP Syntax

PHP Tags
PHP code must be contained in special tags so that the PHP interpreter can
identify it. Depending on the PHP configuration, these tags can take several
forms:
<?php This is the most commonly used (and recommended) form. It is

PHP CODE known as the XML style, because it can be used inside of an XML
GOES IN HERE document without causing the document to become poorly formed.
?>
<script
language="php"
> HTML or Script style tags.
PHP CODE
GOES IN HERE
</script>
<?
PHP CODE "Short" tags. (see footnote)
GOES HERE
?>
<%
PHP CODE ASP-style tags. (see footnote)
GOES HERE
%>
In this manual, we will use the first form shown as it is the most common and
the most portable.
PHP Statements and Whitespace
PHP statements must be inside of PHP tags to be processed by the PHP

interpreter. Each PHP statement must end with a semi-colon, which tells the
PHP interpreter that the statement is complete. If a semi-colon does not
appear at the end of a line, the interpreter will assume that the statement
continues onto the next line.
The PHP interpreter condenses all sequential whitespace in PHP scripts to a
single whitespace. This convenient feature allows PHP developers to
structure their code in a readable format without being concerned about the
effects of line breaks and tabs.
Comments
PHP has two forms of comments:
• Single-line comments begin with a double slash (//).

• Multi-line comments begin with "/*" and end with "*/".
Syntax
// This is a single-line comment
/*
This is
a multi-line
comment.
*/
PHP Functions
There are literally hundreds of built-in PHP functions that do everything from
returning the current date and time on the server to pulling data out of a
database. A function might take zero arguments (e.g, phpinfo(), which
returns information on the PHP environment) or it might take several
arguments (e.g, mail(), which takes three required and two optional
arguments). The syntax for calling a function is straightforward:
Syntax
function_name(arguments);
The example below shows how the phpinfo() function works.
Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/PhpInfo.php

<html>
<head>
<title>PHPINFO</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
//Output information on the PHP environment
phpinfo();
?>
</body>
</html>
Introduction to php.net
PHP functions are well documented at http://www.php.net. You can quickly

look up documentation on a function by going to
http://www.php.net/function_name. For example, to see documentation on
phpinfo(), go to http://www.php.net/phpinfo. (see footnote)
Hello World!
It is an unwritten rule that every programming course must contain a "Hello

World!" script. Here it is:
Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/HelloWorld.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Hello World!</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
//Write out Hello World!
echo 'Hello World!';
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
Notice the following about the above code:
• Code between <?php and ?> is processed by the PHP interpreter.

• The echo command is used to print text back to the browser.
This code isn't very exciting. In fact, PHP doesn't buy us anything here as we
could have just as easily output the result using straight HTML. There is
nothing dynamic about this script. After learning about variables, we'll take a
look at some more interesting examples.
Variables
PHP variables begin with a dollar sign ($) as shown below.
Syntax
$var_name = "Value";
Variable Types
Variable
Explanation
Type
Integer whole number
Double real number
string of
String
characters
Boolean true or false
Array list of items
instance of a
Object
class
Variable Names (Identifiers (see footnote))
• consist of letters, digits, underscores and dollar signs

• cannot begin with a digit
• are case sensitive
Type Strength
PHP is weakly typed, meaning that variables do not need to be assigned a

type (e.g, Integer) at the time they are declared. Rather, the type of a PHP
variable is determined by the value the variable holds and the way in which
it is used.
Hello Variables!
Here is the "Hello World!" script again, but this time we use a variable.
Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/HelloVariables.php

<?php
$Greeting = 'Hello World!';
?>
<html>
<head>
<title><?php echo $Greeting; ?></title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
echo $Greeting;
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
This time the string "Hello World!" is stored in the $Greeting variable, which
is output in the title and body of the page with an echo command.
Exercise: First PHP Script

Duration: 5 to 10 minutes.
In this exercise, you will write a simple PHP script from scratch. The script
will declare a variable called $Today that stores the day of the week.
1. Open a new document and save it as Today.php in the PhpBasics/Exercises

folder.
2. Declare a variable called $Today that holds the current day of the week as
literal text.
3. Output $Today in the title and body of the page.
4. Test your solution in a browser. The resulting HTML page should look like this:
Instead of assigning a literal string (e.g, "Monday") to $Today, use the built-in date()
function so that the script won't have to be manually updated every day to stay
current. For documentation, visit http://www.php.net/date.
Variable Scope
A variable's scope determines the locations from which the variable can be
accessed. PHP variables are either superglobal, global, or local.
Variable
Explanation
Scope
superglob Superglobal variables are predefined arrays, including $_POST and

al $_GET. They are accessible from anywhere on the page.
Global variables are visible throughout the script in which they are
global declared. However, they are not visible within functions in the script
unless they are re-declared within the function as global variables.
Variables in the function scope are called local variables. Local variables
function
are local to the function in which they are declared.
Superglobals
Again, superglobal variables are predefined arrays, including $_POST and

$_GET and are accessible from anywhere on the page. The complete list of
superglobals is shown below.
• $_GET - variables passed into a page on the query string.

• $_POST - variables passed into a page through a form using the post method.
• $_SERVER - server environment variables (e.g, $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']
returns the URL of the referring page).
• $_COOKIE - cookie variables.
• $_FILES - variables containing information about uploaded files.
• $_ENV - PHP environment variables (e.g, $_ENV['HTTP_HOST'] returns the
name of the host server. (see footnote)
• $_REQUEST - variables passed into a page through forms, the query string
and cookies.
• $_SESSION - session variables.
The elements within superglobal variables can be accessed in three different

ways, which the authors of PHP and MySQL Web Development refer to as
short style, medium style, and long style. (see footnote)
Style Syntax (using $_GET) Notes
• Convenient, but it makes it difficult to

distinguish superglobal variables from other
Short $varname variables in the code.
• Requires register_globals config setting to be

on.
Mediu $_GET['varname'] • Recommended approach.
m • Happy medium between convenience and
clarity.
Style Syntax (using $_GET) Notes
• Not available before v. 4.1.

• Inconvenient to type.
• Deprecated, but still supported in current
$HTTP_GET_VARS['varn versions.
Long
ame']
• Can be disabled via the register_long_arrays
directive in the php.ini file.
Many of these superglobals will be covered later in the course.
Constants
Constants are like variables except that, once assigned a value, they cannot
be changed. Constants are created using the define() function and by
convention (but not by rule) are in all uppercase letters. Constants can be
accessed from anywhere on the page.
Syntax
define('CONST_NAME',VALUE);
Variable-Testing and Manipulation Functions (see footnote)
PHP provides built-in functions for checking if a variable exists, checking if a

variable holds a value, and removing a variable. (see footnote)
Functi Exampl
Explanation
on e
Checks to see if a variable exists. Returns true or

isset() isset($a)
false.
unset($
unset() Removes a variable from memory.
a)
empty( Checks to see if a variable contains a non-empty, empty($

) non-false value. a)
PHP Operators
Operators in PHP are similar to those found in many modern C-like
programming languages.
Mathematical Operators
Operat Exam
Name
or ple
+ Addition $a + $b
- Subtraction $a - $b
Multiplicati
* on $a * $b
/ Division $a / $b
% Modulus $a % $b
String Operators
Operat
Name Example
or
Concatenati $a . $b
. on 'Hello' . '
world!'
Assignment Operators
Operat
Name Example
or
$a = 1;
= Assignment $c = 'Hello' . '
world!';
+= $a += 1;
-= $a -= 1;
Combination
*= $a *= 2;
/= Assignment $a /= 2;
%= $a %= 2;
.= $a .= ' world!';
Increment By One $a++;
++
++$a;
Decrement By One $a--;
--
--$a;
Other Operators
Operat
Name Example
or
Ternary $foo = ($age >= 18) ? 'adult'

?:
: 'child';
@ Error $a = @(1/0);
Other Operators
Operat
Name Example
or
Suppression
Creating Dynamic Pages

Single Quotes vs. Double Quotes
In PHP, for simple strings you can use single quotes and double quotes
interchangeably. However, there is one important difference of which you
need to be aware. Text within single quotes will not be parsed for variables
and escape sequences (see footnote). Compare the examples below.
Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/SingleQuotes.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Single Quotes</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$person = 'George';
echo '\tHello\n$person!!';
?>
</body>
</html>
Because of the use of single quotes above, the string "\tHello\n$person!!"

will be output literally, as shown below.
Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/DoubleQuotes.php
<html>
<head>
<title>Single Quotes</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$person = "George";
echo "\tHello\n$person!!";
?>
</body>
</html>
This time, because of the double quotes, the string will be parsed for
variables and special characters and will be output as shown below.
To see the effect of the special characters (\n and \t), you will have to view
the source of the resulting page.
Passing Variables on the URL
A common way to pass values from the browser to the server is by

appending them to the URL as follows:
Syntax
http://www.webucator.com/hello.php?greet=Hello&who=World
The part of the URL that follows the question mark is called the query string.
One or more name-value pairs can be passed to the server in this way. Each
name-value pair is separated by an ampersand (&). The processing page can
read these name-value pairs and use them to determine its response.
The HTML page below shows an example of how these name-value pairs
might be passed.
Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/HelloHi.html

<html>
<head>
<title>Preferred Greeting</title>
</head>
<body>
Do you prefer a formal greeting or an informal greeting?
<ul>
<li><a href="HelloHi.php?greet=Hello">Formal</a></li>
<li><a href="HelloHi.php?greet=Hi">Informal</a></li>
<li><a href="HelloHi.php?greet=Howdy">Friendly</a></li>
</ul>
</body>
</html>
Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/HelloHi.php

<?php
//Assign the passed variable to a variable with
//a more convenient name.
$greeting = $_GET['greet'];
?>
<html>
<head>
<title><?= $greeting ?> World!</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
echo "$greeting World!";
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
Notice the following about the code above.
• Variable names begin with a dollar sign ($).

• Values passed in the query string are part of the $_GET array and can be
accessed using the following syntax: $_GET['fieldname'].
• A shortcut for echo 'text to print'; is <?= 'text to print' ?>. (see footnote)
Exercise: Passing Variables via the Query String

In this exercise, you will write a script that says hello to different people
based on what is passed through the query string.
1. Open PhpBasics/Exercises/HelloWho.html in your editor. You will see that it is

the same as the demo we looked at earlier.
2. Modify HelloWho.html so that it has four links, each of which passes the name
of one of the Beatles (Paul, John, George, and Ringo) to HelloWho.php, which
is in the same directory.
3. Open PhpBasics/Exercises/HelloWho.php in your editor. Modify the code so
that it outputs a greeting based on the link clicked on HelloWho.html.
4. Try it out in your browser.
Change the links so that each Beatle gets a custom greeting (e.g, Howdy
Paul, Hi John, Bye George, Hey Ringo).
Where is the solution?
PHP Basics Conclusion

In this lesson of the PHP tutorial, you have learned how to write a simple PHP
page, to recognize and look up documentation on PHP functions, to work with
variables and to pass variables from one page to another via the query
string.
Footnotes
1. Must be enabled via the short_open_tag php.ini configuration file
directive.
2. Must be enabled via the asp_tags php.ini configuration file directive.
3. Another very good function reference is located at
http://www.phpdig.net/ref/.
4. Variable, function and class names are all identifiers and all follow the
rules above, with the exception that function names are not case
sensitive.
5. Which environment variables are available depends on the specific
server setup and configuration.
6. PHP & MySQL Web Development, Third Edition, p. 21-22
7. For a complete list of variable functions see
http://www.php.net/manual/en/ref.variables.php.
8. To output the results of these functions to a browser, use the
var_dump() function (e.g. var_dump(isset($a));).
9. Escape sequences are used for characters that cannot easily be output
within strings. Common escape sequences are \n for a newline, \t for a
tab, \\ for a backaslash, \" for a double quote, and \$ for a dollar sign.
10. Many PHP developers feel that it is best practice to avoid using this
shortcut syntax for echo. One reason for this is that the shortcut
syntax makes the resulting PHP file impossible to parse as XML.
Flow Control
1. To work with if-elseif-else conditions in PHP.

2. To work with switch/case statements in PHP.
3. To work with loops in PHP.
Conditional Processing
Conditional processing allows programmers to output different code based on specific
conditions. There are two conditional structures in PHP - if-elseif-else and switch/case.
If Conditions
Simple if statement
Syntax
if (conditions)
Do this;
In the above code, the Do this; statement will either run or not run depending on whether or not
the conditions are true. This syntax can only be used when the condition affects a single line of
code. For a block of code, use the following syntax.
Syntax
if (conditions)
{
Do this;
Then do this;
And this too;
}
The lines of code affected by the if condition are put in a code block, which is surrounded by
curly brackets to indicate that all of the code either should or should not be executed, depending
on the result of the if condition.
if-else statement
Syntax
if (conditions)
{
Do this;
}
else
{
Do that;
}
if-elseif-else statement
Syntax
if (conditions)
{
Do this;
}
elseif (other conditions)
{
Do that;
}
else
{
Do this other thing;
}
The two syntax blocks above show an if-else and an if-elseif-else statement, which can have any
number of elseif blocks.
The following table shows PHP's comparison operators.
Comparison Operators
Operat
Description
or
== Equals
!= Doesn't equal
> Is greater than
< Is less than
>= Is greater than or equal to
<= Is less than or equal to
Identical (same value and

===
same type)
!== Not Identical
The following example demonstrates an if-elseif-else statement.
Code Sample: FlowControl/Demos/If.php

<html>
<head>
<title>if-elseif-else</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$Age = 21;
if ($Age >= 21)
{
echo 'You can vote and drink!';
}
elseif ($Age >= 18)
{
echo 'You can vote, but can\'t drink.';
}
else
{
echo 'You cannot vote or drink.';
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
The file is relatively simple. You can see the different results by changing the value of $Age.
Compound If Statements
More complex if statements often require that several conditions be checked. The table below
shows and and or operators for checking multiple conditions and the not operator for negating a
boolean value (i.e, turning true to false or vice versa).
Logical Operators
Operat Nam Exampl

or e e
&& AND $a && $b
|| OR $a || $b
! NOT !$b
The following example shows these logical operators in practice.
Code Sample: FlowControl/Demos/If2.php

<html>
<head>
<title>if-elseif-else</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$Age = 21;
$Citizen = false;
if ($Age >= 21 && !$Citizen)
{
echo 'You can drink, but can\'t vote.';
}
elseif ($Age >= 21)
{
echo 'You can vote and drink!';
}
elseif ($Age >= 18 && $Citizen)
{
echo 'You can vote, but can\'t drink.';
}
else
{
echo 'You cannot vote or drink.';
}
?>
</body>
</html>
switch/case
A switch/case statement is similar to an if statement, except that it can only check for an equality
comparison of a single expression. It cannot, for example, be used to check if one value is higher
than another.
Syntax
switch (expression)
{
case 'a' :
echo 'expression is a';
break;
case 'b' :
echo 'expression is b';
break;
case 'c' :
echo 'expression is c';
break;
default :
echo 'expression is unknown';
break;
}
The break statement is important. Without it, after a single match is found, all following
statements will execute.
The following example demonstrates a switch/case statement without break statements.
Code Sample: FlowControl/Demos/Switch.php

<html>
<head>
<title>switch/case</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$Quantity = 1;
switch ($Quantity)
{
case 1 :
echo 'Quantity is 1';
case 2 :
default :
echo 'Quantity is not 1 or 2';
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
The screenshot below shows the result.
Notice that, once a match is found, all remaining echo statements are output. The following
example shows how this can be fixed by adding break statements.
Code Sample: FlowControl/Demos/SwitchWithBreak.php

<html>
<head>
<title>switch/case</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$Quantity = 1;
switch ($Quantity)
{
case 1 :
break;
case 2 :
break;
default :
echo 'Quantity is not 1 or 2';
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
This time, only the first statement is output:
Exercise: Working with Conditions

In this exercise, you will create a page for handling a simple form submission.
1. Open FlowControl/Exercises/Greeting.html in your editor and review the code.

This is the form that will be submitted. Filled out, it looks like this:
1. This form is submitted using the get method (see footnote), which means the form entries
will be appended to the query string and will be accessible in the $_GET array.
2. Open FlowControl/Exercises/Greeting.php in your editor.
3. Insert a PHP block that checks to see if the user filled out both the LastName and the
Gender fields in the form.
o If the user failed to fill out either one of the fields, write out an error message to
the screen.
o If the user filled out both fields, return a gender-appropriate greeting such as
"Hello Mr. Dunn!" or "Hello Ms. Dunn!" If the gender is not recognizable (e.g,
not male or female), return an error message.
4. Try to use both an if condition and a switch statement in this exercise.
5. When you are done, test your solution in your browser.
It is likely that your solution does not take into account different cases for the gender. For
example, "MALE" and "FEMALE" may not be recognized as valid genders. Try to find the
function at http://www.php.net that can be used for converting the user's entry to all lowercase
letters and use that function to make the gender check case insensitive.
Loops
As the name implies, loops are used to loop (or iterate) over code blocks. The following section
shows the syntax for different types of loops. Each loop will return "12345".
There are several types of loops in PHP.
• while
• do...while
• for
• foreach (see footnote)
while
while loops are used to execute a block of code repeatedly while one or more conditions is true.
Syntax
$a=1;
while ($a < 6)
{
echo $a;
$a++;
}
do...while
do...while loops are used to execute a block of code repeatedly until one or more conditions is
found to be false. The difference between while loops and do...while loops is that the condition is
checked after the code block is executed. This means that, in a do...while loop, the code block
will always be executed at least once.
Syntax
$a=1;
do
{
echo $a;
$a++;
}
while ($a < 6);
for
A for loop takes three expressions separated by semi-colons and grouped in parentheses before
the block to be iterated through.
1. The first expression is executed once before the loop starts. It is usually used
to initialize the conditions.
2. The second expression is evaluated before each iteration through the loop. If
it evaluates to false, the loop ends.
3. The third expression is executed at the end of each iteration through the
loop. It is usually used to make changes that can affect the second
expression.
Syntax
for ($a=1; $a < 6; $a++)
{
echo $a;
}
break and continue
To break out of a loop, insert a break statement.
Syntax
for ($a=1; $a < 6; $a++)

{
echo $a;
if ($a > 3)
{
break;
}
}
To jump to the next iteration of a loop without executing the remaining statements in the block,
insert a continue statement.
Syntax
for ($a=1; $a < 6; $a++)

{
if ($a == 3)
{
continue;
}
echo $a;
}
Exercise: Working with Loops

1. Open FlowControl/Exercises/Loops.php in your editor.

2. Under the while header, use a while loop to output all the even numbers that
are less than or equal to 100.
3. Under the for header, use a for loop to output all the odd numbers that are
less than or equal to 100.
In both loops, skip all numbers that are divisible by 3. Be careful not to get caught in an infinite
loop.
Arrays
1. To work with indexed arrays.

2. To work with associative arrays.
3. To work with two-dimensional arrays.
4. To work with array-manipulation functions.
Up to this point, we have dealt only with variables that store single values, called scalar
variables. In this lesson, we will be covering arrays. Arrays are variables that store sets of values.
Indexed Arrays
Indexed arrays are similar to tables with a single column. An indexed array can contain zero or
more elements. In PHP, like in many programming languages, the first element of an array is in
the "zeroeth" position. An array with no elements has a zero length.
Initializing Arrays
Arrays are initialized with the array() function, which can take a list of comma-delimited values
that become the elements in the new array. The following lines of code initializes a zero-length
array and then adds four elements to the array.
Syntax
$Beatles = array();
$Beatles[0] = 'John';
$Beatles[1] = 'Paul';
$Beatles[2] = 'George';
$Beatles[3] = 'Ringo';
The first line above is actually optional as the second line will create the array if one does not
already exist. However, it is a better coding practice to explicitly initialize the array. The
$Beatles array could also be created in a single line as follows.
Syntax
$Beatles = array('John','Paul','George','Ringo');
Appending to an Array
If you know how many elements are in an array, you can append to the array by specifying the
index. For example, you could append to the $Beatles array shown above as follows:
Syntax
$Beatles[5] = 'Nat';
However, sometimes you don't know how many elements are in an array. Although you can
easily figure this out, doing so requires an extra step. PHP provides an easy way of appending to
an array of any length. Simply leave out the index.
Syntax
$Beatles[] = 'Nat';
Reading from Arrays
Reading from arrays is just a matter of pointing to a specific index or key.
Syntax
echo $Beatles[2]; //outputs George to the browser
Looping through Arrays
The following code will loop through the entire $Beatles array outputting each element to the
browser.
Syntax
foreach ($Beatles as $Beatle)

{
echo "$Beatle<br>";
}
The above code snippets are combined in the following example.
Code Sample: Arrays/Demos/IndexedArrays.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Indexed Arrays</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Indexed Arrays</h1>
<?php
$Beatles = array();
$Beatles[0] = 'John';
$Beatles[1] = 'Paul';
$Beatles[2] = 'George';
$Beatles[3] = 'Ringo';
echo $Beatles[2]; //outputs George to the browser
$Beatles[] = 'Nat';
?>
<hr/>
<?php
foreach ($Beatles as $Beatle)
{
echo "$Beatle<br/>";
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Exercise: Working with Indexed Arrays

In this exercise, you will use arrays to create a table with a single column that lists all your
favorite colors. (see footnote) As shown in the screenshot below, the background of each table
row should be the same as the color named in the row.
1. Open Arrays/Exercises/ColorTable.php for editing.
2. Create an array that holds your favorite colors.
3. Inside of the open and close <table> tags, loop through the array outputting a table row
for each element.
4. Test your solution in a browser.
Associative Arrays
Whereas indexed arrays are indexed numerically, associative arrays are indexed using names.
For example, instead of Ringo being indexed as 3, he could be indexed as "drummer".
Initializing Associative Arrays
Like with indexed arrays, we can intialize a zero-length associative array and then add elements.
Syntax
$Beatles = array();
$Beatles['singer1'] = 'Paul';
$Beatles['singer2'] = 'John';
$Beatles['guitarist'] = 'George';
$Beatles['drummer'] = 'Ringo';
Or the array could be created in a single line as follows.
Syntax
$Beatles = array('singer1' => 'John',
'singer2' => 'Paul',
'guitarist' => 'George',
'drummer' => 'Ringo');
Reading from Associative Arrays
Reading from associative arrays is as simple as reading from indexed arrays.
Syntax
echo $Beatles['drummer']; //outputs Ringo to the browser
Looping through Associative Arrays
The following code will loop through the entire $Beatles array outputting each element and its
key to the browser.
Syntax
foreach ($Beatles as $key => $Beatle)

{
echo "<b>$key:</b> $Beatle<br>";
}
The above code snippets are combined in the following example.
Code Sample: Arrays/Demos/AssociativeArrays.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Associative Arrays</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Associative Arrays</h1>
<?php
$Beatles = array('singer1' => 'John',
'singer2' => 'Paul',
'guitarist' => 'George',
'drummer' => 'Ringo');
echo $Beatles['drummer']; //outputs Ringo to the browser

?>
<hr/>
<?php
foreach ($Beatles as $key => $Beatle)
{
echo "<b>$key:</b> $Beatle<br/>";
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Superglobal Arrays
The superglobal arrays are associative arrays. The file below outputs all the contents of the
superglobal arrays using foreach loops.
Code Sample: Arrays/Demos/SuperGlobals.php

<?php
session_start();
?>
<html>
<head>
<title>Superglobal Arrays</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Superglobal Arrays</h1>
<h2>$_COOKIE</h2>
<ol>
<?php
foreach ($_COOKIE as $key => $item)
{
echo "<li><b>$key:</b> $item<br/></li>";
}
?>
</ol>
<hr/>
<h2>$_ENV</h2>
<ol>
<?php
foreach ($_ENV as $key => $item)
{
}
?>
</ol>
<hr/>
<h2>$_FILES</h2>
<ol>
<?php
foreach ($_FILES as $key => $item)
{
}
?>
</ol>
<hr/>
<h2>$_GET</h2>
<ol>
<?php
foreach ($_GET as $key => $item)
{
}
?>
</ol>
<hr/>
<h2>$_POST</h2>
<ol>
<?php
foreach ($_POST as $key => $item)
{
}
?>
</ol>
<hr/>
<h2>$_REQUEST</h2>
<ol>
<?php
foreach ($_REQUEST as $key => $item)
{
}
?>
</ol>
<hr/>
<h2>$_SESSION</h2>
<ol>
<?php
foreach ($_SESSION as $key => $item)
{
}
?>
</ol>
<hr/>
<h2>$_SERVER</h2>
<ol>
<?php
foreach ($_SERVER as $key => $item)
{
}
?>
</ol>
</body>
</html>
Don't worry about the session_start() statement at the top. We'll cover that in detail later in the
course.
Exercise: Working with Associative Arrays

In this exercise, you will use arrays to create a table with two columns that lists all your favorite
colors and their hexadecimal equivalents. The background of each table row should be the same
as the color named in the row as shown in the screenshot below.
1. Open Arrays/Exercises/ColorTable2.php for editing.
2. Create an associative array that holds your favorite colors indexed by their hex codes,
which can be found at http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_colornames.asp.
3. After the existing table row, write code to loop through the array outputting a table row
with two columns for each element in the array.
4. Test your solution in a browser.
Two-dimensional Arrays
In PHP, two-dimensional arrays are arrays that contain arrays. You can think of the outer array
as containing the rows and the inner arrays as containing the data cells in those rows. For
example, a two-dimensional array called $Rockbands could contain the names of the bands and
some of the songs that they sing. Below is a grid that represents such a two-dimensional array.
Rockband Song1 Song2 Song3
Beatles Love Me Do Hey Jude Helter Skelter
Rolling Waiting on a Yesterday's

Angie
Stones Friend Papers
Life in the Fast Hotel Best of My

Eagles
Lane California Love
The following code creates this two-dimensional array. The internal arrays are highlighted. Note
that the header row is not included.
Syntax
$Rockbands = array(
array('Beatles','Love Me Do', 'Hey Jude','Helter Skelter'),
array('Rolling Stones','Waiting on a Friend','Angie',
'Yesterday\'s Papers'),
array('Eagles','Life in the Fast Lane','Hotel California',
'Best of My Love')
)
Reading from Two-dimensional Arrays
To read an element from a two-dimensional array, you must first identify the index of the "row"
and then identify the index of the "column." For example, the song "Angie" is in row 1, column
2, (see footnote) so it is identified as $Rockbands[1][2].
Looping through Two-dimensional Arrays
To loop through a two-dimensional array, you need to nest one loop inside of another. The
following code will create an HTML table from our two-dimensional array.
Syntax
<table border="1">
<?php
foreach($Rockbands as $Rockband)
{
echo "<tr>";
foreach($Rockband as $item)
{
echo "<td>$item</td>";
}
echo "</tr>";
}
?>
</table>
The above code snippets are combined in the following example to output a Rockbands table.
Code Sample: Arrays/Demos/TwoDimensionalArrays.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Two-dimensional Arrays</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Two-Dimensional Arrays</h1>
<?php
$Rockbands = array(
array('Beatles','Love Me Do', 'Hey Jude','Helter Skelter'),
array('Rolling Stones','Waiting on a Friend','Angie','Yesterday\'s Papers'),
array('Eagles','Life in the Fast Lane','Hotel California','Best of My Love')
);
?>
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>Rockband</th>
<th>Song 1</th>
<th>Song 2</th>
<th>Song 3</th>
</tr>
<?php
foreach($Rockbands as $Rockband)
{
echo '<tr>';
foreach($Rockband as $item)
{
echo "<td>$item</td>";
}
echo '</tr>';
}
?>
</table>
</body>
</html>
Array Manipulation Functions

The following table shows some of the more common array manipulation functions.
Useful Array Functions (see footnote)
Function Explanation
Sorts an array alphabetically. Elements will be assigned to new index

sort()
numbers.
Sorts associative arrays alphabetically by value. The index

asort()
association remains intact.
Sorts associative arrays alphabetically by key. The index association

ksort()
remains intact.
Reverse sorts an array alphabetically. Elements will be assigned to

rsort()
new index numbers.
Reverse sorts associative arrays alphabetically by value. The index

arsort()
krsort() Reverse sorts associative arrays alphabetically by key. The index

Useful Array Functions (see footnote)
Randomly sorts the array. For the order to be sorted differently each
shuffle()
time, the random number generator needs to be seeded with rsand().
array_reverse(
Returns an array with the elements in reverse order.
)
array_walk() Applies a user function to every element of an array.
count() Returns the number of elements in an array.
explode() Converts a string to an array by splitting it on a specified separator.
Takes one parameter and returns true or false depending on whether

is_array()
the parameter passed is an array.
array_keys() Returns all the keys of an associative array as an array.
array_key_exis
Checks to see if a specified key exists in an array.
ts()
Arrays Conclusion
Arrays are an important feature of many modern programming languages. In this lesson, we have
covered the most common uses of arrays.
PHP and HTML Forms

1. To process form data with PHP.
HTML Forms
How HTML Forms Work
A very common way to pass data from one page to another is through HTML forms. There are
two methods of submitting data through a form: the get method and the post method. The
method used is determined by the value of the method attribute of the form tag. The default
method is get.
Get Method
When the get method is used, data is sent to the server in name-value pairs as part of the query
string. The get method is most commonly used by search pages and is useful when it is important
to be able to bookmark the resulting page (i.e, the page that is returned after the form is
submitted).
Post Method
When the post method is used, data is sent to the server in name-value pairs behind the scenes.
The two major advantages of the post method are:
• The name-value pairs are not visible in the location bar, so sensitive data
such as passwords are not displayed on the screen.
• Files, such as images and Office documents, can be uploaded via the form.
The major disadvantage is that the resulting page cannot be bookmarked.
A Sample HTML Form
The following is a sample HTML form for inserting an employee record into a database.
Code Sample: Forms/Demos/AddEmployee.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Add Employee</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Add Employee</h1>
<form method="post" action="ProcessEmployee.php">
<table>
<tr>
<td>First name:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="FirstName" size="15"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Last name:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="LastName" size="15"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Title:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="Title" size="30"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Title of Courtesy:</td>
<td>
<input type="radio" name="TitleOfCourtesy" value="Dr."/>Dr.
<input type="radio" name="TitleOfCourtesy" value="Mr."/>Mr.
<input type="radio" name="TitleOfCourtesy" value="Mrs."/>Mrs.
<input type="radio" name="TitleOfCourtesy" value="Ms."/>Ms.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Birth date:</td>
<td>
<select name="BirthMonth">
<option value="1">January</option>
<option value="2">February</option>
<option value="3">March</option>
<option value="4">April</option>
<option value="5">May</option>
<option value="6">June</option>
<option value="7">July</option>
<option value="8">August</option>
<option value="9">September</option>
<option value="10">October</option>
<option value="11">November</option>
<option value="12">December</option>
</select>
<select name="BirthDay">
<?php
for ($i=1; $i<=31; $i++)
{
echo "<option value='$i'>$i</option>";
}
?>
</select>
<select name="BirthYear">
<?php
for ($i=2006; $i>=1900; $i=$i-1)
{
}
?>
</select>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hire date:</td>
<td>
<select name="HireMonth">
<option value="1">January</option>
<option value="2">February</option>
<option value="3">March</option>
<option value="4">April</option>
<option value="5">May</option>
<option value="6">June</option>
<option value="7">July</option>
<option value="8">August</option>
<option value="9">September</option>
<option value="10">October</option>
<option value="11">November</option>
<option value="12">December</option>
</select>
<select name="HireDay">
<?php
for ($i=1; $i<=31; $i++)
{
}
?>
</select>
<select name="HireYear">
<?php
for ($i=2006; $i>=1992; $i=$i-1)
{
}
?>
</select>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Address:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="Address" size="50"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>City:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="City" size="30"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Region:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="Region" size="2"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Postal Code:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="PostalCode" size="10"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Country:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="Country" size="5"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Home Phone:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="HomePhone" size="15"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Extension:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="Extension" size="5"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">Notes:</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<textarea name="Notes" cols="50" rows="3"></textarea>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Manager:</td>
<td>
<select name="ReportsTo">
<option value="0">Choose...</option>
<option value="1">Nancy Davolio</option>
<option value="2">Andrew Fuller</option>
<option value="3">Janet Leverling</option>
<option value="4">Margaret Peacock</option>
<option value="5">Steven Buchanan</option>
<option value="6">Michael Suyama</option>
<option value="7">Robert King</option>
<option value="8">Laura Callahan</option>
<option value="9">Anne Dodsworth</option>
</select>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Password:</td>
<td><input type="password" name="Password1" size="10"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Repeat Password:</td>
<td><input type="password" name="Password2" size="10"/></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><input type="submit" value="Add Employee"/></td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
</body>
</html>
The above code, which contains some embedded PHP code, outputs a simple HTML form. Its
action page is ProcessEmployee.php, which will eventually contain PHP code to process the
submitted form.
Form Variables
Form variables are variables that are created when an HTML form is submitted using the post
method. These variables are stored in the $_POST superglobal array. Here are a few things you
should know about how HTML forms are processed:
1. If a text field or textarea is left blank, the variable is sent to the server with a
value of "" (empty string).
2. Select menus always send a variable to the server (unless they have been
disabled in some way).
3. If no radio button in a radio array is checked, no variable for that radio array
is sent to the server.
4. If a checkbox is not checked, no value is sent to the server. If it is checked,
the default value of "on" is sent unless otherwise set in the HTML.
5. If the submit button has a name (e.g, <input type="submit"
name="Inserting" value="Add Employee"/>), when that submit button is
clicked a variable by that name with the corresponding value will be sent to
the server.
Exercise: Processing Form Input
In this exercise, you will create a page that processes the form data. The form entry page,
Exercises/AddEmployee.php, is already complete and is identical to Demos/AddEmployee.php
above. Filled out, the form would look like this:
If everything is filled out correctly, the page should display as follows:
If all fields are left blank except for the password fields, which contain two different
values, the page should display as follows:
1. Open Forms/Exercises/ProcessEmployee.php in your editor.
2. For each form entry (other than the dates, which we'll worry about later), create a simple
global variable to hold...
o either an error if the entry is not filled out or filled out incorrectly.
o or the value entered.
3. Output the variables as list items as shown in the screenshots above.
4. Save your work.
5. To test your solution, load Forms/Exercises/AddEmployee.php in the browser and fill out
and submit the form.
Code Sample: Forms/Exercises/ProcessEmployee.php

<?php
//For each entry coming through the form,
// create a simple global variable to hold...
// - either an error if the entry is not filled or filled incorrectly
// - or the value entered.
//The first one is done for you.
if ($_POST['FirstName'] == '')
{
$FirstName = '<span style="color:red;">First name omitted.</span>';
}
else
{
$FirstName = $_POST['FirstName'];
}
?>
<html>
<head>
<title>Process Employee</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Process Employee</h1>
<ul>
<?php
//Output the variables as list items.
//Part of the first one is done for you.
echo "<li><b>Name:</b> $FirstName</li>";
?>
</ul>
</body>
</html>
If there are any errors, include a link at the bottom that directs the user to the form. If there are
no errors, include a form full of hidden fields containing the values entered and a submit button
that reads "Confirm".
String Manipulation
1. To format strings.
2. To work with string manipulation functions.
3. To make strings safe for outputting to the browser.
4. To understand the benefits and dangers of magic quotes.
Formatting Strings
Concatenation
Concatenation is a programming word for adding strings together. In PHP, the concatenation
operator is a dot (.). Generally, concatenation is used to combine literal text with variables or
values returned from functions. The example below illustrates this.
Code Sample: Strings/Demos/Concatenation.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Concatenation</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Concatenation</h1>
<?php
$FirstName = 'Paul';
$Greeting = 'Hello';
echo $Greeting . ' ' . $FirstName . '!';
?>
<h2>Using Double Quotes to Avoid the Concatenation Operator</h2>
<?php
echo "$Greeting $FirstName!";
?>
<h2>Double quotes don't work when concatenating
the results of a function call</h2>
<?php
echo $Greeting . ' ' . $FirstName . '! Today is ' . date('l') . '.';
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
As shown in the code, double quotes can be used to avoid using the concatenation operator. This
works for concatenating literal strings with variables, but it does not work for concatenating
values returned from functions. To do that, the function call must be outside of any quotes and
combined with the rest of the string using the concatenation operator. This also is demonstrated
in the code sample above.
String Manipulation Functions

Trimming Strings
Functi
Description
on
Removes whitespace at beginning and end

trim()
of a string.
Removes whitespace at the beginning of a

ltrim()
string.
rtrim() Removes whitespace at the end of a string.
Presentation
Function Description
htmlentitie
Escapes all HTML entities.
s()
Inserts a <br /> tag before each newline character in

nl2br()
a string.
strtoupper(
Converts a string to uppercase.
)
strtolower(
Converts a string to lowercase.
)
Presentation
ucfirst() Converts the first character of a string to uppercase.
Converts the first character of each word in a string

ucwords()
to uppercase.
Converting Strings and Arrays
Functi
Description
on
explode
Splits a string into an array on a specified character or group of characters.
()
implode Converts an array into a string, placing a specified character or group of

() characters between each array element.
join() Same as implode().
Substrings
Returns the substring from the character in position pos to the end
substr(str,pos)
of the string.
Returns the substring from len characters from the end of the string
substr(str,-len)
to the end of the string.
substr(str,pos,l Returns a len length substring beginning with the character in

en) position pos.
substr(str,pos,- Returns a substring beginning with the character in position pos and
len) chopping off the last len characters of the string.
strstr() Returns the position of one string in another.
stristr() Returns the position of one string in another. Case insensitive.
Finds the position of the first occurrence of a specified character in a

strpos()
string.
Finds the position of the last occurrence of a specified character in a

strrpos()
string.
str_replace() Replaces all occurrences of one string with another string.

Comparing Strings
Compares two strings. Returns < 0 if str1 is less than str2, > 0 if str1 is
strcmp()
greater than str2, and 0 if they are equal.
strcasecm
Like strcmp() but case insensitive.
p()
strlen() Returns the length of a string.
Examples of String Functions
Below are some examples of string manipulation functions.
trim() and strtolower()
This example uses trim() and strtolower() to improve the form validation script.
Code Sample: Strings/Demos/Greeting.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Greeting Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$LastName = trim($_GET['LastName']);
$Gender = strtolower(trim($_GET['Gender']));
if ($LastName == '' || $Gender == '')

{
echo 'Error: You must fill out the form.
Please <a href="Greeting.html">try again</a>.';
}
else
{
switch($Gender)
{
case 'male' :
echo "Hello Mr. $LastName!";
break;
case 'female' :
echo "Hello Ms. $LastName!";
break;
default :
echo "<b>$Gender</b> is not a gender!";
}
}
?>
</body>
</html>
htmlentities() and nl2br() (see footnote)
The htmlentities() function is used to escape HTML entities, such as less than signs (<) and
greater than signs (>). Take a look at the screenshot below to get an idea of why this is
important.
Imagine if this form were submitted to the script below.
Code Sample: Strings/Demos/HtmlEntitiesNotUsed.php

<html>
<head>
<title>HTML Entities Processor</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>HTML Entities Processor</h1>
<?php
echo $_POST['UserComments'];
?>
</body>
</html>
This would result in the JavaScript code being executed. This JavaScript code would create a
never-ending loop that popped up an alert over and over again. Although this would be pretty
annoying, there are much worse things users could do, such as make a remote procedure call to
execute a page on your server.
You can test this by opening Strings/Demos/HtmlEntitiesNotUsed.html and submitting the form.
You probably don't want to test with a never-ending loop though.
This can easily be fixed by changing the code to look like this:
Code Sample: Strings/Demos/HtmlEntitiesUsed.php

<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<?php
echo nl2br(htmlentities($_POST['UserComments']));
?>
</body>
</html>
This script uses htmlentities() to escape all the HTML entities and uses nl2br() to convert
newline characters to breaks. The resulting output looks like this:
And the resulting HTML source looks like this:
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<script language="javascript"><br />
while (true)<br />
{<br />
alert("Try to get rid of me!");<br />
}<br />
</script></body>
</html>
explode()
The explode() function is used to convert a string to an array. The following form submits to
Explode.php, the code of which is shown below.
Code Sample: Strings/Demos/Explode.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Exploding Emails</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$Emails = explode(';',$_POST['Emails']);
echo '<ol>';
foreach ($Emails as $Email)
{
echo '<li>' . trim($Email) . '</li>';
}
echo '</ol>';
?>
</body>
</html>
Notice that the trim() function is used to trim the resulting elements of the array. This is because
the string is exploded on the semi-colon only. If the user adds additional whitespace around the
semi-colon, that whitespace will be part of the array element.
substr()
As shown earlier, the substr() function behaves differently depending on the values passed to it.
The following screenshot shows the effects of using substr().
Exercise: Working with String Manipulation Functions

In this exercise, you will modify the ProcessEmployee.php script you worked on earlier.
1. Open Strings/Exercises/ProcessEmployee.php in your editor.

2. Modify the code so that all leading and trailing whitespace is removed and
HTML entities are escaped for all incoming form variables.
3. Test the password comparison if condition by entering "0" in the Password1
text box and "-0.00" in the Password2 text box. This does not result in an
error. Fix it so that an error will be returned.
4. Modify the code so that each word of the employee's title begins with a
capital letter.
5. Modify the code so that hard returns in the Notes field are displayed in the
output.
6. To test your solution, load Strings/Exercises/AddEmployee.php in the browser
and fill out and submit the form.
Magic Quotes
There are two settings in the php.ini file that determine how PHP handles incoming data. The
settings are magic_quotes_gpc (on by default) and magic_quotes_runtime (off by default).
magic_quotes_gpc
The value of magic_quotes_gpc determines whether GET, POST and COOKIE data should be
escaped "automagically". If magic_quotes_gpc is set to 1, then single quotes, double quotes and
backslashes will be escaped with backslashes. In this case, if a user entered "O'Reilly" as her last
name, and your script returned that value to the browser (e.g, echo $_POST['LastName'];), the
value returned would read "O\'Reilly". You would need to strip the backslashes by passing the
value through the stripslashes() function (e.g, echo stripslashes($_POST['LastName']);).
Although magic quotes can be useful, they can also cause confusion as the developer may not
know whether magic quotes are turned on or off. To check whether they are on, use the
get_magic_quotes_gpc() function as shown below.
if (get_magic_quotes_gpc())
{
echo stripslashes($_POST['LastName']);
}
else
{
echo $_POST['LastName'];
}
magic_quotes_runtime
The value of magic_quotes_runtime determines whether data returned from files and databases
should be escaped "automagically". It works similarly to magic_quotes_gpc.
Recommendation on Magic Quotes
Our recommendation on magic quotes is to turn them off in the php.ini file. You can easily
escape a string when you need to with the addslashes() function.
String Manipulation Conclusion

In this lesson of the PHP tutorial, you have learned to format strings safely for outputting to the
browser, to work with PHP's built-in string manipulation functions to improve form validation,
and to understand how magic quotes work.
Reusing Code and Writing Functions

1. To write reusable files and include them in multiple pages.
2. To write user-defined functions.
3. To create a library of user-defined form-validation and form-entry functions.
Writing reusable code results in time and money savings, more consistent and bug free code, and
the ability to hide complex code from less seasoned developers.
Including Files
PHP provides two common constructs for including files in web pages: require and include.
They are basically the same with one minor difference. require throws a fatal error when it fails;
whereas, include only gives a warning. If you need the included file to continue to process the
page, you should use require.
It is important to keep in mind that a PHP tag cannot start in a calling file and continue in an
included file. All PHP code in the included file must be nested in PHP tags.
require
require is not actually a function, but a language construct, so require statements can be written
in two ways:
Syntax
require(path_to_file);
require path_to_file;
path_to_file can be an absolute or a relative path.
require_once
require_once can be used just like require. The difference is that if the included file has already
been included by earlier code, it will not be re-included.
A Note on Security
If included files are under the web root, they can be accessed just as any other file can. If they
have an extension such as inc then the browser may display them as plain text. With other
extensions, the browser may attempt to download the file. If the included file is a PHP file and a
user navigates to it, the server will try to process the file and may return errors. As a precaution,
you may want to place your included files in a directory above or outside of the web root. This
will prevent users from accessing the files directly.
include_path directive
The php.ini contains an include_path directive, which takes a semi-colon delimited list of paths
to directories that PHP should look in for included files.
Here is a code sample that demonstrates how to include files using require.
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/Require.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Including Files</title>
</head>
<body>
This text is on the main page.
<hr/>
<?php
require 'Includes/Required.php';
?>
<hr/>
<?php
require 'Includes/Required.inc';
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
The above code is relatively straightforward. Require.php contains two included (required) files:
Required.php and Required.inc. Notice that there is PHP code inside of Required.inc, which is
executed. The extension of the included files does not affect how the code inside the files will be
executed.
Exercise: Adding a Header and Footer

In this exercise, you will add a header and a footer to a simple home page, which currently just
contains a login form.
1. Open Includes/Header.php and Includes/Footer.php in your editor and review

the code.
2. Open ReusingCode/Exercises/index.php in your editor.
3. Add code to include Includes/Header.php and Includes/Footer.php at the top
and bottom or the page.
4. To test your solution, load ReusingCode/Exercises/index.php in the browser. It
should display as follows:
auto_prepend_file and auto_append_file
The configuration file, php.ini, contains settings for automatically prepending and appending
files to every PHP script. These settings are auto_prepend_file and auto_append_file. By default,
they contain no values; however, they can be set to point to a files using absolute paths as
follows:
; Automatically add files before or after any PHP document.

auto_prepend_file = "c:/inetput/include/runbefore.inc"
auto_append_file = "c:/inetput/include/runafter.inc"
The auto_prepend_file directive can be used to application-wide variables such as database

connection strings or common file paths. The auto_append_file directive can be used for
cleaning up code or for outputting debugging information to the browser.
Note that it is not possible to set different auto-prepend and auto-append files for different
directories or different scripts.
User Functions
User functions are used to make common tasks easier and to make code more modular and easier
to read. Unlike other identifiers in PHP, functions are case insensitive.
Defining and Calling Functions
A simple function is defined as follows.
Syntax
function myfunct()
{
do this;
do that;
do this other thing;
}
Like built-in functions, user functions can receive parameters. To define a function with
parameters, place receiving variables in the parentheses.
Syntax
function addNums($param1, $param2, $param3)

{
$sum = $param1 + $param2 + $param3;
echo 'The sum is ' . $sum;
}
User functions can also return values.
Syntax
function addNums($param1, $param2, $param3)

{
return $sum;
}
User functions are called in the same way that built-in functions are. For example, the following
code calls the addNums() function to get the sum of three numbers.
Syntax
$total = addNums(1,3,5);
See ReusingCode/Demos/SimpleUDF.php to see the above code in action.

Default Values
You can make function parameters optional by assigning default values to them as shown in the
example below.
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/DefaultValues.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Simple User-defined Function</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
function addNums($param1=0, $param2=0, $param3=0)
{
return $sum;
}
$Total = addNums(1,3);
echo $Total;
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
In this case, if you don't pass a value into the function for one or more of the parameters, the
default value of 0 will be used. When defining a function, all required parameters should precede
optional parameters.
Variable Scope
In PHP, variables declared outside of functions are not available by default inside of functions.
The following code illustrates this:
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/LocalVars.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Local Variables</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$a = 10;
$b = 5;
function incrNumBy()
{
$a += $b;
}
incrNumBy(); //results in two warnings as $a and $b are
//undefined in the function scope
echo $a; //outputs 10 to the browser
?>
</body>
</html>
To make the variables available to the function, they must be declared within the function as
global variables using the global keyword.
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/GlobalVars.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Global Variables</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$a = 10;
$b = 5;
function incrNumBy()
{
global $a,$b;
$a += $b;
}
incrNumBy();
?>
</body>
</html>
By Reference vs. By Value
By default, variables are passed to functions by value, meaning that the function's receiving
variables get copies of the values received rather than pointers to them. If the receiving variables
are modified, the passed variables remain unaffected. The following code illustrates this.
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/ByValue.php

<html>
<head>
<title>By Value</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$a = 10;
$b = 5;
function incrNumBy($num,$incr)
{
$num += $incr;
}
incrNumBy($a,$b);
?>
</body>
</html>
The above code outputs "10" to the browser. Although $num was incremented by 5, $a was
unaffected by the function call. To pass a variable by reference, put an ampersand (&) before the
parameter in the function definition.
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/ByReference.php

<html>
<head>
<title>By Reference</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$a = 10;
$b = 5;
function incrNumBy(&$num,$incr)
{
$num += $incr;
}
incrNumBy($a,$b);
?>
</body>
</html>
This time the function outputs "15" because $num references the variable $a itself. So, any
change in $num will affect $a.
Form Processing
Processing forms generally involves the following tasks:
1. Writing the HTML code to output the form.

2. Writing validation code to validate the form entries after the form is
submitted.
3. Writing code to output errors if there are any.
4. Writing code to process the form entries if they are all valid.
Although these tasks are all separate, some are dependent on others. For example, if errors are
found when the form is submitted, it is nice to re-output the form, but the HTML code may be
different from the original form as you will likely want to include error messages and also echo
the values that the user entered. It's very easy to get your code all tangled up resulting in what is
known as spaghetti code. We will now examine one approach for organizing code using
functions and includes to make it easier to maintain.
Code Organization
Application Flow
The application we are building works like this:
1. When the user first visits, she is presented with a form to fill out.
2. If she fills out the form...
o Correctly
 She is presented with another form to confirm her entries.
 After confirming her entries, the data will be processed (e.g,
entered into a database or emailed to someone).
o Incorrectly
 She is presented with the same form with her entries in tact and
appropriate error messages displayed.
Application Files
To make our code easier to maintain, we will organize it as follows:
1. Includes/init.php - Initializes and sets some variables.

2. AddEmployee.php - Contains code that defines the flow of the application.
3. Includes/EmployeeForm.php - Contains code to display entry form.
4. Includes/ProcessEmployee.php - Contains code to process the original form
entry. If there are errors, they will be displayed on the page. If there are no
errors, the user's entries will be displayed with a "Confirm" button.
5. Includes/InsertEmployee.php - Contains code to insert the employee into a
database. (This file is currently empty.)
6. Includes/fnFormPresentation.php - Contains a library of functions for
presenting form fields.
7. Includes/fnFormValidation.php - Contains a library of functions for validating
form entries.
8. Includes/fnStrings.php - Contains a couple of useful string functions.
9. Includes/fnDates.php - Contains a useful date function.
We will examine each of these files.
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/Includes/init.php

<?php
$ShowForm = true;
$MgrEntries = array();
$MgrEntries[1]='Nancy Davolio';
$MgrEntries[2]='Andrew Fuller';
$MgrEntries[3]='Janet Leverling';
$MgrEntries[4]='Margaret Peacock';
$MgrEntries[5]='Steven Buchanan';
$MgrEntries[6]='Michael Suyama';
$MgrEntries[7]='Robert King';
$MgrEntries[8]='Laura Callahan';
$MgrEntries[9]='Anne Dodsworth';
$Errors = array();
$DbEntries = array( 'FirstName'=>'',
'LastName'=>'',
'Email'=>'',
'Title'=>'',
'TitleOfCourtesy'=>'',
'Address'=>'',
'City'=>'',
'Region'=>'',
'PostalCode'=>'',
'Country'=>'',
'HomePhone'=>'',
'Extension'=>'',
'Notes'=>'',
'ReportsTo'=>'',
'Password'=>'',
'Email'=>'',
'BirthMonth'=>1,
'BirthDay'=>1,
'BirthYear'=>date('Y'),
'HireMonth'=>1,
'HireDay'=>1,
'HireYear'=>date('Y'));
$BrowserEntries = array();
?>
Code Explanation
This file sets several variables used throughout the application.
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/AddEmployee.php

<?php
require 'Includes/fnFormValidation.php';
require 'Includes/fnFormPresentation.php';
require 'Includes/fnStrings.php';
require 'Includes/fnDates.php';
require 'Includes/init.php';
?>
<html>
<head>
<title>Add Employee</title>
<style type="text/css">
.Error {color:red; font-size:smaller;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<?php
require 'Includes/Header.php';
if (array_key_exists('Submitted',$_POST))
{
require 'Includes/ProcessEmployee.php';
}
elseif (array_key_exists('Confirmed',$_POST))
{
require 'Includes/InsertEmployee.php';
}
if ($ShowForm)
{
require 'Includes/EmployeeForm.php';
}
require 'Includes/Footer.php';
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
The code is relatively easy to read. Things to note:
1. At the very top, we include several files we will need for the application.
2. In the body, we include:
o our header and footer files.
o code that checks which, if either, form was submitted and includes the
appropriate file.
o code that checks whether or not to show the main form. The form will
be shown if:
 it has not yet been submitted.
 it has been submitted with errors.
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/Includes/fnDates.php

<?php
/********* DATE FUNCTIONS *********/
/*
Function Name: monthAsString
Arguments: $m
Returns:
month as string
*/
function monthAsString($m)
{
$Months = array();
$Months[] = 'January';
$Months[] = 'February';
$Months[] = 'March';
$Months[] = 'April';
$Months[] = 'May';
$Months[] = 'June';
$Months[] = 'July';
$Months[] = 'August';
$Months[] = 'September';
$Months[] = 'October';
$Months[] = 'November';
$Months[] = 'December';
return $Months[$m-1];
}
?>
Code Explanation
This file includes a simple function for getting the name of a month (e.g, February) given the
month number (e.g, 2).
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/Includes/fnStrings.php

<?php
/********** STRING FUNCTIONS *********/
/*
Function Name: browserString
Arguments: $String
Returns:
trimmed and escaped string for browser output
*/
function browserString($String)
{
return nl2br(trim(htmlentities($String)));
}
/*
Function Name: dbString
Arguments: $String
Returns:
trimmed and escaped string for database entry
*/
function dbString($Email)
{
{
return trim ($Email);
}
else
{
return addslashes(trim($Email));
}
}
?>
Code Explanation
This file includes functions for cleaning up strings for browser and database output.
Code Sample:
ReusingCode/Demos/Includes/fnFormPresentation.php
<?php
/********* FORM PRESENTATION FUNCTIONS *********/
/*
Function Name: textEntry
Arguments: $Display,$Name,$Entries,$Errors,$Size?
Returns:
one table row as string
*/
function textEntry($Display,$Name,$Entries,$Errors,$Size=15)
{
$ReturnVal = "
<tr>
<td>$Display:</td>
<td>
<input type='text' name='$Name' size='$Size'
value=\"" . browserString($Entries[$Name]) . "\">";
if (array_key_exists($Name,$Errors))
{
$ReturnVal .= '<span class="Error" style="white-space:nowrap">* ' .
$Errors[$Name] .
'</span>';
}
$ReturnVal .= "</td>
</tr>";
return $ReturnVal;
}
/*
Function Name: pwEntry
Arguments: $PW1,$PW2,$Errors,$Size?
Returns:
table rows as string
*/
function pwEntry($PW1,$PW2,$Errors,$Size=10)
{
$ReturnVal = "
<tr>
<td>Password:</td>
<td>
<input type='password' name='$PW1' size='$Size'>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Repeat Password:</td>
<td>
<input type='password' name='$PW2' size='$Size'>
</td>
</tr>";
if (array_key_exists('Password',$Errors))
{
$ReturnVal .= addErrorRow('Password',$Errors);
}
return $ReturnVal;
}
/*
Function Name: textAreaEntry
Arguments: $Display,$Name,$Entries,$Errors,$Cols?,$Rows?
Returns:
*/
function textAreaEntry($Display,$Name,$Entries,$Errors,$Cols=45,$Rows=5)
{
$ReturnVal = "
<tr>
<td colspan='2'>$Display:</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan='2'>
<textarea name='$Name' cols='$Cols' rows='$Rows'>";
$ReturnVal .= $Entries[$Name];
$ReturnVal .= "</textarea>
</td>
</tr>";
if (array_key_exists($Name,$Errors))
{
$ReturnVal .= addErrorRow($Name,$Errors);
}
return $ReturnVal;
}
/*
Function Name: radioEntry
Arguments: $Display,$Name,$Entries,$Errors,$Values
Returns:
*/
function radioEntry($Display,$Name,$Entries,$Errors,$Values)
{
$ReturnVal = "
<tr>
<td>$Display:</td>
<td>$Name</td>
</tr>";
return $ReturnVal;
}
/*
Function Name: selectEntry
Arguments: $Display,$Name,$Entries,$Errors,$Selected?
Returns:
*/
function selectEntry($Display,$Name,$Options,$Errors,$Selected=0)
{
$ReturnVal = "<tr>
<td>$Display:</td>
<td>
<select name='$Name'>
<option value='0'>Choose one...</option>";
$ReturnVal .= "</select>
</td>
</tr>";
return $ReturnVal;
}
/*
Function Name: selectDateEntry
Arguments: $Display,$NamePre,$Month,$Day,$Year
Returns:
*/
function selectDateEntry($Display,$NamePre,$Month,$Day,$Year,$Errors)
{
$ReturnVal = "<tr>
<td>$Display:</td>
<td>
<select name='$NamePre" . "Month'>";
for ($i=1; $i<=12; $i++)
{
if ($i == $Month)
{
$ReturnVal .= "<option value='$i' selected>";
}
else
{
$ReturnVal .= "<option value='$i'>";
}
$ReturnVal .= monthAsString($i) . '</option>';
}
<select name='$NamePre" . "Day'>";
for ($i=1; $i<=31; $i++)
{
if ($i == $Day)
{
}
else
{
$ReturnVal .= "<option value='$i'>";
}
$ReturnVal .= "$i</option>";
}
<select name='$NamePre" . "Year'>";
for ($i=date('Y'); $i>=1900; $i=$i-1)
{
if ($i == $Year)
{
}
else
{
$ReturnVal .= "<option value='$i'>$i</option>";
}
$ReturnVal .= "$i</option>";
}
$ReturnVal .= '</select>
</td>
</tr>';
if (array_key_exists($NamePre . 'Date',$Errors))
{
$ReturnVal .= addErrorRow($NamePre . 'Date',$Errors);
}
return $ReturnVal;
}
/*
Function Name: addErrorRow
Arguments: $Name
Returns:
table row as string
*/
function addErrorRow($Name,$Errors)
{
$ErrorRow = '<tr><td colspan="2" class="Error">* ' .
$Errors[$Name] .
'</td></tr>';
return $ErrorRow;
}
?>
Code Explanation
This file contains functions for presenting form entries. Several of these functions are complete,
but there are a couple that need to be finished. This will be part of the next exercise.
Code Sample:
ReusingCode/Demos/Includes/fnFormValidation.php
<?php
/********* FORM VALIDATION FUNCTIONS *********/
/*
Function Name: checkLength
Arguments: $Text,$Min?,$Max?,$Trim?
Returns:
false if $Text has fewer than $Min characters
false if $Text has more than $Max characters
true otherwise
*/
function checkLength($Text,$Min=1,$Max=10000,$Trim=true)
{
if ($Trim)
{
$Text = trim($Text);
}
if (strlen($Text) < $Min || strlen($Text) > $Max)
{
return false;
}
return true;
}
/*
Function Name: checkEmail
Arguments: $Email
Returns:
false if $Email has fewer than 6 characters
false if $Email does not contain @ symbol
false if $Email does not contain a period (.)
false if the last @ symbol comes after the last period (.)
true otherwise
*/
function checkEmail($Email)
{
return true;
}
/*
Function Name: checkPassword
Arguments: $PW1,$PW2
Returns:
false if $PW1 has fewer than 6 characters
false if $PW1 has more than 12 characters
false if $PW1 and $PW2 do not match
true otherwise
*/
function checkPassword($PW1,$PW2)
{
return true;
}
?>
Code Explanation
This file contains functions for validating form entries. One of these functions is complete, but
there are a couple that need to be finished. This will also be part of the next exercise.
Code Sample: ReusingCode/Demos/Includes/EmployeeForm.php

<h1 align="center">Add Employee</h1>
<form method="post" action="AddEmployee.php">
<input type="hidden" name="Submitted" value="true">
<table align="center" border="1" width="500">
<?php
echo textEntry('First name','FirstName',$DbEntries,$Errors,15);
echo textEntry('Last name','LastName',$DbEntries,$Errors,15);
echo textEntry('Email','Email',$DbEntries,$Errors,25);
echo textEntry('Title','Title',$DbEntries,$Errors,30);
echo radioEntry('Title of Courtesy','TitleOfCourtesy',
$DbEntries,$Errors,
array('Dr.','Mr.','Mrs.','Ms.'));
echo selectDateEntry('Birth date','Birth',
$DbEntries['BirthMonth'],
$DbEntries['BirthDay'],
$DbEntries['BirthYear'],
$Errors);
echo selectDateEntry('Hire date','Hire',
$DbEntries['HireMonth'],
$DbEntries['HireDay'],
$DbEntries['HireYear'],
$Errors);
echo textEntry('Address','Address',$DbEntries,$Errors,50);
echo textEntry('City','City',$DbEntries,$Errors,30);
echo textEntry('Region','Region',$DbEntries,$Errors,2);
echo textEntry('Postal Code','PostalCode',$DbEntries,$Errors,10);
echo textEntry('Country','Country',$DbEntries,$Errors,5);
echo textEntry('Home phone','HomePhone',$DbEntries,$Errors,15);
echo textEntry('Extension','Extension',$DbEntries,$Errors,5);
echo textAreaEntry('Notes','Notes',$DbEntries,$Errors,50,3);
echo selectEntry('Manager','ReportsTo',$MgrEntries,
$Errors,$DbEntries['ReportsTo']);
echo pwEntry('Password1','Password2',$Errors,10);
?>
<tr>
<td colspan="2"><input type="submit" value="Add Employee"></td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
Code Explanation
This file creates the entry form. Notice that it creates entry rows through calls to functions in the
fnFormPresentation.php file. This allows us to easily incorporate error handling and error
messages into the form entries without making the HTML form itself difficult to maintain.
Code Sample:
ReusingCode/Demos/Includes/ProcessEmployee.php
<?php
$DbEntries['FirstName'] = dbString($_POST['FirstName']);
$DbEntries['LastName'] = dbString($_POST['LastName']);
$DbEntries['Title'] = ucwords(dbString($_POST['Title']));
$DbEntries['Address'] = dbString($_POST['Address']);
$DbEntries['City'] = dbString($_POST['City']);
$DbEntries['Region'] = dbString($_POST['Region']);
$DbEntries['PostalCode'] = dbString($_POST['PostalCode']);
$DbEntries['Country'] = dbString($_POST['Country']);
$DbEntries['HomePhone'] = dbString($_POST['HomePhone']);
$DbEntries['Extension'] = dbString($_POST['Extension']);
$DbEntries['Notes'] = dbString($_POST['Notes']);
$DbEntries['ReportsTo'] = $_POST['ReportsTo'];
$DbEntries['Password'] = dbString($_POST['Password1']);
$DbEntries['Email'] = dbString($_POST['Email']);
$DbEntries['BirthMonth'] = dbString($_POST['BirthMonth']);
$DbEntries['BirthDay'] = dbString($_POST['BirthDay']);
$DbEntries['BirthYear'] = dbString($_POST['BirthYear']);
$DbEntries['HireMonth'] = dbString($_POST['HireMonth']);
$DbEntries['HireDay'] = dbString($_POST['HireDay']);
$DbEntries['HireYear'] = dbString($_POST['HireYear']);
if (!checkLength($_POST['FirstName']))
{
$Errors['FirstName'] = 'First name omitted.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['FirstName'] = browserString($_POST['FirstName']);
}
if (!checkLength($_POST['LastName']))
{
$Errors['LastName'] = 'Last name omitted.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['LastName'] = browserString($_POST['LastName']);
}
if (!checkLength($_POST['Title']))
{
$Errors['Title'] = 'Title omitted.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['Title'] = ucwords(browserString($_POST['Title']));
}
if ( array_key_exists('TitleOfCourtesy',$_POST) )
{
$BrowserEntries['TitleOfCourtesy'] =
browserString($_POST['TitleOfCourtesy']);
$DbEntries['TitleOfCourtesy'] = dbString($_POST['TitleOfCourtesy']);
}
else
{
$Errors['TitleOfCourtesy'] = 'Title of Courtesy not selected.';
}
if (!checkdate($_POST['BirthMonth'],$_POST['BirthDay'],$_POST['BirthYear']))
{
$Errors['BirthDate'] = 'Birth date is not a valid date.';
}
if (!checkdate($_POST['HireMonth'],$_POST['HireDay'],$_POST['HireYear']))
{
$Errors['HireDate'] = 'Hire date is not a valid date.';
}
if (!checkLength($_POST['Address'],5,200))
{
$Errors['Address'] = 'Address omitted.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['Address'] = browserString($_POST['Address']);
}
if (!checkLength($_POST['City'],1,100))
{
$Errors['City'] = 'City omitted.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['City'] = browserString($_POST['City']);
}
if (!checkLength($_POST['Region'],2,2) && !checkLength($_POST['Region'],0,0))

{
$Errors['Region'] = 'Region name must be two characters.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['Region'] = browserString($_POST['Region']);
}
if (!checkLength($_POST['PostalCode']))
{
$Errors['PostalCode'] = 'Postal Code omitted.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['PostalCode'] = browserString($_POST['PostalCode']);
}
if (!checkLength($_POST['Country']))
{
$Errors['Country'] = 'Country omitted.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['Country'] = browserString($_POST['Country']);
}
if (!checkLength($_POST['HomePhone'],10,15))
{
$Errors['HomePhone'] = 'Home phone must be between 10 and 15 characters.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['HomePhone'] = browserString($_POST['HomePhone']);
}
if (!checkLength($_POST['Extension'],3,5))
{
$Errors['Extension'] = 'Extension must be between 3 and 5 characters.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['Extension'] = browserString($_POST['Extension']);
}
if (!checkLength($_POST['Notes'],0,100))
{
$Errors['Notes'] = 'Notes must be fewer than 100 characters:<br/>
<span style="color:blue; font-weight:normal">' .
browserString(substr($_POST['Notes'],0,100)) .
'</span><span style="color:red; font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:line-through;">' .
browserString(substr($_POST['Notes'],100)) .
'</span>';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['Notes'] = browserString($_POST['Notes']);
}
if ($_POST['ReportsTo'] == 0)
{
$Errors['ReportsTo'] = 'Manager not selected.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['ReportsTo'] = $_POST['ReportsTo'];
}
if ( !checkPassword($_POST['Password1'],$_POST['Password2']) )
{
$Errors['Password'] = 'Passwords do not match or are not the right length.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['Password'] = browserString($_POST['Password1']);
}
if ( !checkEmail($_POST['Email']) )
{
$Errors['Email'] = 'Email is invalid.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['Email'] = browserString($_POST['Email']);
}
?>
<?php
if (!count($Errors))
{
$ShowForm = false;
?>
<form method="post" action="AddEmployee.php">
<input type="hidden" name="Confirmed" value="true">
<?php
echo '<h2>Confirm Entries</h2>';
echo '<ol>';
foreach ($BrowserEntries as $key=>$Entry)
{
if ($key=='ReportsTo')
{
echo "<li><b>Manager:</b> $MgrEntries[$Entry]</li>";
}
else
{
echo "<li><b>$key:</b> $Entry</li>";
}
}
echo '</ol>';
foreach ($DbEntries as $key=>$Entry)

{
?>
<input type="hidden" name="<?php echo $key ?>"
value="<?php echo $Entry ?>">
<?php
}
?>
<input type="submit" value="Confirm">
</form>
<?php
}
else
{
$DbEntries = $_POST;
}
?>
Code Explanation
This file contains code for processing the form entries. It makes use of functions in the
fnFormValidation.php file for validating entries. If no errors are found, it sets the boolean
$ShowForm to false, so that the original form will not be displayed and it outputs all the entries
(made browser-safe) to the browser for confirmation. If errors are found, it adds them to the
$Errors array, which is passed into the form presentation functions, so that they can return code
for displaying the errors. If there are errors, the boolean $ShowForm is left as true, so that the
original form is redisplayed.
Code Sample:
ReusingCode/Demos/Includes/InsertEmployee.php
TO DO LATER
Code Explanation
This file will eventually contain code for inserting the employee information into the database.
Exercise: Form Validation and Presentation Functions

In this exercise, you will complete several functions needed for the application we have just
seen.
1. Open ReusingCode/Exercises/Includes/fnFormPresentation.php in your editor.

2. Complete the radioEntry() and selectEntry() functions so that the return value
contains correct form entries and, if appropriate, errors.
3. Open ReusingCode/Exercises/Includes/fnFormValidation.php in your editor.
4. Complete checkEmail() and checkPassword(), so that they return true if the
form entry is valid and false otherwise.
5. To test your solution, open ReusingCode/Exercises/AddEmployee.php in your
browser and submit the form several times entering different data
combinations each time.
Managing Data
1. To retrieve and safely display records from a database.

2. To insert new records into a database.
3. To update existing records in a database.
Querying a Database
The steps for querying a database in a PHP script are as follows:
1. Connect to the database.

2. Send query to the database.
3. Retrieve and store results sent back from the database.
4. Output the results of the query to the browser.
5. Free up resources and disconnect from the database.
mysqli() Overview
New in PHP5 is the mysqli library, which works with MySQL versions 4.1.3 and above and
takes advantage of a new faster connection protocol in MySQL. The mysqli library provides two
interfaces: an object-oriented interface and a procedural interface. The following two scripts use
the two different interfaces to accomplish the same result.
Code Sample: ManagingData/Demos/SimpleQuery-OO.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Simple Query - OO</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
@$DB = new mysqli('localhost','root','pwdpwd','Northwind');
if (mysqli_connect_errno())
{
echo 'Cannot connect to database: ' . mysqli_connect_error();
}
else
{
$Query = 'SELECT * FROM Employees';
$Result = $DB->query($Query);
$NumResults = $Result->num_rows;
echo "<b>$NumResults Employees</b>";
?>
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>First Name</th>
<th>Last Name</th>
<th>Title</th>
<th>Email</th>
<th>Extension</th>
</tr>
<?php
while ($Row = $Result->fetch_assoc())
{
echo '<tr>';
echo '<td>' . $Row['FirstName'] . '</td>';
echo '<td>' . $Row['LastName'] . '</td>';
echo '<td>' . $Row['Title'] . '</td>';
echo '<td>' . $Row['Email'] . '</td>';
echo '<td align="right">x' . $Row['Extension'] . '</td>';
echo '</tr>';
}
?>
</table>
<?php
$Result->free();
$DB->close();
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Sample: ManagingData/Demos/SimpleQuery-

Procedural.php
<html>
<head>
<title>Simple Query - Procedural</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
@$DB = mysqli_connect('localhost','root','pwdpwd','Northwind');
{
}
else
{
$Result = mysqli_query($DB,$Query);
$NumResults = mysqli_num_rows($Result);

?>
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>First Name</th>
<th>Last Name</th>
<th>Title</th>
<th>Email</th>
<th>Extension</th>
</tr>
<?php
while ($Row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($Result))
{
echo '<tr>';
echo '</tr>';
}
?>
</table>
<?php
mysqli_free_result($Result);
mysqli_close($DB);
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
1. To connect to the database, we use: (see footnote)
1.
o Object-oriented
o Procedural:
@$DB = mysqli_connect('localhost','root','pwdpwd','Northwind');
2. To see if the connection was successful we check mysqli_connect_errno(),

which returns an error number if there is a connection error or 0 if there is no
error. If an error occurs, we output a message with mysqli_connect_error().
We use the procedural interface in both cases, because a connection object
doesn't get created if the connection fails.
3. To send the query to the database and store the results in a variable, we use:
o Object-oriented: $Result = $DB->query($Query);
o Procedural: $Result = mysqli_query($DB,$Query);
4. To output the results of the query, we use:
o Object-oriented:
o while ($Row = $Result->fetch_assoc())
o {
o echo "<tr>";
o echo "<td>" . $Row['FirstName'] . "</td>";
o echo "<td>" . $Row['LastName'] . "</td>";
o echo "<td>" . $Row['Title'] . "</td>";
o echo "<td>" . $Row['Email'] . "</td>";
o echo "<td align='right'>x" . $Row['Extension'] . "</td>";
o echo "</tr>";
}
o Procedural:
o while ($Row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($Result))
o {
o echo "<tr>";
o echo "<td>" . $Row['FirstName'] . "</td>";
o echo "<td>" . $Row['LastName'] . "</td>";
o echo "<td>" . $Row['Title'] . "</td>";
o echo "<td>" . $Row['Email'] . "</td>";
o echo "<td align='right'>x" . $Row['Extension'] . "</td>";
o echo "</tr>";
}
5. To free up resources and disconnect from the database, we use:

o Object-oriented:
o $Result->free();
$DB->close();
o Procedural:
o mysqli_free_result($Result);
mysqli_close($DB);
As you can see, the two scripts are pretty similar. We will use the object-oriented interface in
future examples.
mysqli Methods and Properties

Connection Methods and Properties
Object-
Procedural Description
oriented
new mysqli() mysqli_connect() Connects to a MySQL server.
mysqli_connect_err Returns connection error number or 0 if

no() there's no error.
mysqli_connect_err
Returns connection error message.
or()
$DB- mysqli_get_host_inf
Returns information on the connection.
>host_info o()
Query Functions
Object-
oriented
Sends a query to the database and returns

$DB->query() mysqli_query()
results.
$DB- mysqli_multi_que Sends multiple queries to the database and

>multi_query() ry() returns results.
Fetch Functions
Object-
oriented
$Result- mysqli_fetch_row Returns a result row from a query result object

>fetch_row() () or resource as an indexed array.
$Result- mysqli_fetch_ass Returns a result row from a query result object

>fetch_assoc() oc() or resource as an associative array.
$Result- mysqli_fetch_obje Returns a result row from a query result object

>fetch_object() ct() or resource as an object.
Inserting and Updating Records
Records are inserted and updated with SQL queries using the same mysqli library we used to
generate a report. Review the following scripts.
Code Sample: ManagingData/Demos/EmployeeReport.php

---- Code Omitted ----
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>First Name</th>
<th>Last Name</th>
<th>Title</th>
<th>Email</th>
<th>Extension</th>
<th>Edit</th>
</tr>
<?php
while ($Row = $Result->fetch_assoc())
{
echo '<tr>';
echo '<td><form method="post" action="EditEmployee.php">
<input type="hidden" name="EmployeeID"
value="' . $Row['EmployeeID'] . '"/>
<input type="submit" name="Editing" value="Edit"/>
</form></td>';
echo '</tr>';
}
?>
</table>
Code Explanation
This file is similar to the SimpleQuery examples we saw earlier in this lesson. The only
difference is that each row now has an edit form in the last column, which sends the employee's
EmployeeID to EditEmployee.php.
Code Sample: ManagingData/Demos/EditEmployee.php

<?php
require 'Includes/fnFormValidation.php';
require 'Includes/fnDates.php';
require 'Includes/init.php';
{
}
?>
<html>
<head>
<title>Edit Employee</title>
<style type="text/css">
.Error {color:red; font-size:smaller;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<?php
if (array_key_exists('Updating',$_POST))
{
require 'Includes/ProcessEmployee.php';
}
require 'Includes/EmployeeData.php';
require 'Includes/EmployeeForm.php';
$DB->close();
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
This file is similar to the AddEmployee.php file we worked on earlier in the course. This one
goes a step further though by connecting to the database to retrieve data to populate the form. It
works as follows:
1. At the very top, we include several files we will need for the application and
we connect to the database.
2. In the body, we include:
o our header and footer files.
o code that checks whether the user has already made updates and, if
so, includes the processing file.
o the file with code to retrieve the specified employee's data.
o the file with code to display the filled-in form.
Code Sample:
ManagingData/Demos/Includes/EmployeeData.php
<?php
$EmployeeID = $_POST['EmployeeID'];
$Query = "SELECT FirstName, LastName, Title,

TitleOfCourtesy, Email,
MONTH(BirthDate) AS BirthMonth,
DAYOFMONTH(BirthDate) AS BirthDay,
YEAR(BirthDate) AS BirthYear,
MONTH(HireDate) AS HireMonth,
DAYOFMONTH(HireDate) AS HireDay,
YEAR(HireDate) AS HireYear,
Address, City, Region, PostalCode, Country,
HomePhone, Extension, Notes, ReportsTo, Password
FROM Employees
WHERE EmployeeID = $EmployeeID";
$DbEntries = $Result->fetch_assoc();
$Result->free();
?>
Code Explanation
This file contains the query that selects the specified employee's data and populates the
$DbEntries array with the results.
Code Sample: ManagingData/Demos/Includes/fnStrings.php

<?php
/********** STRING FUNCTIONS *********/
/*
Function Name: dbString
Arguments: $String
Returns:
trimmed and escaped string for database entry
*/
function dbString($String)
{
$String=trim($String);
{
return $String;
}
else
{
return addslashes($String);
}
}
?>
Code Explanation
This file is the same as the fnStrings.php file we saw before except that the dbString() function
has been updated. It now checks to see if magic quotes are turned on. If they are, then form
entries will be made database-safe "automagically", so it just returns the trimmed string. If they
are not, then it uses addslashes() to make the string safe for database queries.
Code Sample:
ManagingData/Demos/Includes/fnFormValidation.php
<?php
/********* FORM VALIDATION FUNCTIONS *********/
/*
Function Name: checkPassword
Arguments: $PW1,$PW2,$CheckLength?
Returns:
false if $PW1 has fewer than 6 characters
false if $PW1 has more than 12 characters
false if $PW1 and $PW2 do not match
true otherwise
*/
function checkPassword($PW1,$PW2,$CheckLen=true)
{
$PW1 = trim($PW1);
$PW2 = trim($PW2);
if ($CheckLen)
{
return checkLength($PW1,6,12) && strcmp($PW1,$PW2) == 0;
}
else
{
return strcmp($PW1,$PW2) == 0;
}
}
?>
Code Explanation
This file is the same as the fnFormValidation.php file we saw before except that the
checkPassword() function now takes an additional parameter: $CheckLen, which when set to
false, will prevent the function from returning false if a blank password is entered.
Code Sample:
ManagingData/Demos/Includes/ProcessEmployee.php
<?php
foreach ($DbEntries as &$Entry)
{
$Entry = dbString($Entry);
}
$DbEntries['Title'] = ucwords($DbEntries['Title']);
if (array_key_exists('EmployeeID',$_POST))
{
$PwCheckLen = false;
}
else
{
$PwCheckLen = true;
}
if ( !checkPassword($_POST['Password1'],$_POST['Password2'],$PwCheckLen) )
{
$Errors['Password'] = 'Passwords do not match or are not the right length.';
}
else
{
$BrowserEntries['Password'] = browserString($_POST['Password1']);
}
?>
<?php
if (!count($Errors) && array_key_exists('EmployeeID',$_POST))
{
$EmployeeID = $_POST['EmployeeID'];
$Query = "UPDATE Employees
SET FirstName='" . $DbEntries['FirstName'] . "',
LastName='" . $DbEntries['LastName'] . "',
Title='" . $DbEntries['Title'] . "',
TitleOfCourtesy='" . $DbEntries['TitleOfCourtesy'] . "',
Email='" . $DbEntries['Email'] . "',
BirthDate='" . $DbEntries['BirthYear'] . '-' .
$DbEntries['BirthMonth'] . '-' .
$DbEntries['BirthDay'] . "',
HireDate='" . $DbEntries['HireYear'] . '-' .
$DbEntries['HireMonth'] . '-' .
$DbEntries['HireDay'] . "',
Address='" . $DbEntries['Address'] . "',
City='" . $DbEntries['City'] . "',
Region='" . $DbEntries['Region'] . "',
PostalCode='" . $DbEntries['PostalCode'] . "',
Country='" . $DbEntries['Country'] . "',
HomePhone='" . $DbEntries['HomePhone'] . "',
Extension='" . $DbEntries['Extension'] . "',
Notes='" . $DbEntries['Notes'] . "',
ReportsTo=" . $DbEntries['ReportsTo'];
if (CheckLength($DbEntries['Password']))
{
$Query .= ", Password='" . $DbEntries['Password'] . "'";
}
$Query .= " WHERE EmployeeID = $EmployeeID";
$DB->query($Query);
echo '<div align="center">Record Updated</div>';
}
elseif (!count($Errors))
{
$ShowForm = false;
?>
}
else
{
}
?>
Code Explanation
This file is the same as the ProcessEmployee.php file we saw before with a few important
changes:
1. Instead of assigning values from $_POST to $DbEntries one by one, we simply

copy $_POST into $DbEntries and then loop through the array to pass each
element through dbString(). Notice the use of the & to make $Entry a
reference to rather than a copy of the array element.
2. The call to checkPassword() now contains a third parameter to specify
whether the function should return false if the password fields are not filled
out. We only want to check the password length for new entries, not for
updates.
3. If the EmployeeID key exists in the $_POST array, then the Edit Employee
form has been submitted and a database query will be executed to update
the employee record.
Exercise: Inserting Records

In this exercise, you will work on the InsertEmployee.php script to insert new employees.
1. Open ManagingData/Exercises/InsertEmployee.php for editing.

2. Add code at the top to populate $DbEntries with SQL-safe entries from the
form.
3. Make the connection to the database.
4. The SQL insert query has been started for you. Finish it.
5. Write code to execute the query.
o If the query succeeds, return "Employee Added" and a link to
EmployeeReport.php. You will also need to set $ShowForm to false to
prevent the form from reappearing.
o If the query fails, return "Insert failed".
Code Sample:
ManagingData/Exercises/Includes/InsertEmployee.php
<?php
//Add code to populate $DbEntries with
//SQL-safe entries from the form.
//Connect to the database
//Finish the query below

$Query = "INSERT INTO Employees
(FirstName, LastName, Title,
TitleOfCourtesy, Email, BirthDate, HireDate,
Address, City, Region, PostalCode, Country,
HomePhone, Extension, Notes, ReportsTo, Password)...
//Execute the query.

//If the query succeeds, return 'Employee Added'
// and provide a link to EmployeeReport.php
// and set $ShowForm to false
//If it fails, return 'Insert failed'
?>
Instead of hiding the form after an employee is inserted. Provide a new empty form, so that the
user can enter another employee.
mysqli Prepared Statements
With mysqli it is possible to create prepared statements, which improve performance and
improve security. Prepared statements are essentially templated queries to which you can bind
input and output variables. To illustrate, look at the following example. (see footnote)
Code Sample: ManagingData/Demos/PreparedStatement.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Prepared Statement</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$CompanyID = $_GET['City']; //Try London

{
}
else
{
$Query = 'SELECT CompanyName,ContactName,Phone
FROM Customers WHERE City=?';
$Stmt = $DB->prepare($Query);
$Stmt->bind_param('s',$CompanyID);
$Stmt->execute();
$Stmt->bind_result($Company,$Contact,$Phone);
?>
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>Company</th>
<th>Contact</th>
<th>Phone</th>
</tr>
<?php
while ($Stmt->fetch())
{
echo '<tr>';
echo "<td>$Company</td>";
echo "<td>$Contact</td>";
echo "<td>$Phone</td>";
echo '</tr>';
}
?>
</table>
<?php
$Stmt->close();
$DB->close();
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
Using the object-oriented interface, the process is as follows:
1. A query is created with question marks used as placeholders for parameters

(input variables).
2. A statement is prepared using the prepare() method, which takes a query as
an argument.
3. Parameters can be bound to the statement with the bind_param() method.
The first argument of this method is a string that has one character for each
subsequent argument. The character specifies the data type of that input
parameter. For example, "isd" would specify that the input parameters are an
integer, string, and double, in that order. The only other option is b for blob.
4. The statement is executed with the execute() method.
5. If the query returns results (e.g, SELECT queries), they can be bound to the
statement with the bind_result() method.
6. The fetch() method can be used to fetch rows from the result set.
Prepared statements are most useful in cases where you have to loop through a dataset to do bulk
inserts or updates.
Prepare Functions
Object-oriented Procedural Description
Prepares a SQL statement for

$db->prepare() mysqli_prepare()
execution.
$Stmt- mysqli_stmt_bind_res Binds variables to a prepared

>bind_result() ult() statement results.
$Stmt- mysqli_stmt_bind_par Binds variables to a prepared

>bind_param() am() statement.
$Stmt- mysqli_stmt_execute(
Executes a prepared statement.
>execute() )
Fetches results into the bound

$Stmt->fetch() mysqli_stmt_fetch()
variables.
$Stmt->close() mysqli_stmt_close() Closes prepared statement.
PEAR:DB
1. To use the PEAR DB package as a database abstraction layer.
PEAR (see footnote) supplies a number of open source extensions to PHP including its DB
package, which provides a database abstraction layer, so that the PHP programmer doesn't have
to worry about all the APIs for different databases.
Advantages and Disadvantages of PEAR DB

Whether or not you decide to use PEAR DB or a similar database abstraction layer depends on
your needs. If you need to be able to work on many applications and get your work done quickly,
then PEAR DB is certainly helpful. If performance is key, then you may find the extra weight of
PEAR DB to be prohibitive.
Why use a database abstraction layer?
One big benefit of using a database abstraction layer like PEAR DB is portability. PEAR DB
allows you to use a single API for working with many different types of databases. So if you
decide to move to another database, you will not have to rewrite all your code.
Another benefit is code simplification. If your application involves multiple databases of

different flavors or you work on many applications each of which uses a different type of
database, you would normally have to learn the APIs for each of the databases you would be
working with. Again, PEAR DB allows you to work with all these databases using the same API.
When not to use a database abstraction layer?
The biggest downside of using a database abstraction layer is that the benefits come at a
performance cost. Imagine you were planning to travel around Europe and had the choice of
bringing an interpreter who could speak all European languages and learning the languages
yourself. It would certainly be easier to bring the interpreter, but this would make each
conversation you had somewhat slower. The abstraction layer is the interpreter.
Using PEAR DB
The connection string for connecting to the database with PEAR DB is:
Syntax
driver://username:password@host/database
Some of the drivers supported by PEAR DB are
• mysqli
• myssql
• mssql
• oci8
• odbc
• pgsql
• sybase
• dbase
• sqlite
Code Sample: PEAR-DB/Demos/EmployeeReport.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Employee Report</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
require_once 'DB.php';
@$DB = DB::connect('mysqli://root:pwdpwd@localhost/Northwind');
if (DB::isError($DB))
{
echo 'Cannot connect to database: ' . $DB->getMessage();
}
else
{
$NumResults = $Result->numRows();
?>
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>First Name</th>
<th>Last Name</th>
<th>Title</th>
<th>Email</th>
<th>Extension</th>
</tr>
<?php
while ($Row = $Result->fetchRow(DB_FETCHMODE_ASSOC))
{
echo '<tr>';
echo '</tr>';
}
?>
</table>
<?php
$Result->free();
$DB->disconnect();
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
As you can see, the PEAR DB API is very similar to the mysqli object-oriented API. Let's walk
through the code.
1. First, we include the PEAR DB library. Notice that we simply use DB.php for
the path:
require_once 'DB.php';
This will only work if:

o DB.php is in the same directory as EmployeeReport.php. This isn't
likely as DB.php itself includes files, which would also have to be in the
same directory.
o The include_path directive in php.ini includes a path to the pear folder
containing DB.php.
2. Next, we connect to the database:
@$DB = DB::connect('mysqli://root:pwdpwd@localhost/Northwind');
This line of code will create a connection object if the connection is successful
or an error object if it is not. The :: syntax will be covered when we discuss
object-oriented PHP programming, but the crux of it is that the connect()
method is a class-level method rather than an object-level method, so it can
be called without first instantiating an object. (see footnote)
3. We then use the class-level isError() method to check if $DB is an error

object, which would mean that the connection failed. If it did fail, we output
an error.
4. if (DB::isError($DB))
5. {
6. echo 'Cannot connect to database: ' . $DB->getMessage();
}
7. If the connection succeeded, we run our query:

8. $Query = 'SELECT * FROM Employees';
9. $Result = $DB->query($Query);
$NumResults = $Result->numRows();
10.And, after writing out our header row, we loop through the query results
outputting a row for each record returned:
11. while ($Row = $Result->fetchRow(DB_FETCHMODE_ASSOC))
12. {
13. echo '<tr>';
14. echo '<td>' . $Row['FirstName'] . '</td>';
15. echo '<td>' . $Row['LastName'] . '</td>';
16. echo '<td>' . $Row['Title'] . '</td>';
17. echo '<td>' . $Row['Email'] . '</td>';
18. echo '<td align="right">x' . $Row['Extension'] . '</td>';
}
The fetchRow() method can take one of several constants to specify how a
row is returned. In this example, we use DB_FETCHMODE_ASSOC to get the
row as an associative array. Other options are DB_FETCHMODE_ORDERED
(the default) and DB_FETCHMODE_OBJECT, which get the row as an indexed
array and an object, respectively.
Exercise: Creating a Customer Report

In this exercise, you will create a sales report using PEAR DB.
1. Open PEAR-DB/Exercises/SalesReport.php for editing.

2. Write code to:
o Include the PEAR DB package.
o Connect to the Northwind database.
o If the connection fails, return an error message to the browser.
o If the connection succeeds run a query that gets the order date and
the first and last name of the associated employee and the customer
company for all orders. Order by OrderDate.
o Output the results of the query in a table.
o Free the result and disconnect from the database.
Code Sample: PEAR-DB/Exercises/SalesReport.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Sales Report</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
//Include PEAR DB Package
//Connect to the Northwind database.

// If the connection fails, return an error message to the browser.
// If the connectoin succeeds run a query that gets the order date
// and the first and last name of the associated employee
// and the customer company for all orders. Order by OrderDate.
?>
<table border="1">
<tr>
<th>#</th>
<th>Salesperson</th>
<th>Customer</th>
<th>Order Date</th>
</tr>
<?php
//Create rows for each record returned from the query.
?>
</table>
<?php
//Free the result and disconnect from the database.
}
?>
</body>
</html>
830 rows are returned. This is two many to display on a single page. MySQL has a LIMIT clause
that specifies which and how many records to return from the query. For example, the query
below would return 10 orders starting with the 100th order (note that the first row is row 0).
SELECT OrderDate, OrderID

FROM Orders
LIMIT 99,10;
Add code to your solution that allows the user to tab through the results 10 at a time with
Previous and Next buttons.
Authentication with PHP and SQL

1. To authenticate users with a login form.
A Database-less Login Form

Below is a simple login form that uses a hard-coded username and password.
Code Sample: Authentication/Demos/SimpleLogin.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Login Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$msg='';
$Email = '';
if (array_key_exists('LoggingIn',$_POST))
{
$Email = $_POST['Email'];
$PW = $_POST['Password'];
if ($Email == 'jwayne@northwind.com' && $PW == 'cowboy')
{
echo '<div align="center">Success</div>';
}
else
{
echo '<div align="center">Login Failed</div>';
unset($_POST['LoggingIn']);
}
}
if (!array_key_exists('LoggingIn',$_POST))
{
?>
<div align="center">
<h2>Log in</h2>
<form method="post" action="SimpleLogin.php">
<input type="hidden" name="LoggingIn" value="true">
<table>
<tr>
<td>Email:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="Email"
value="<?php echo $Email?>" size="25"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Password:</td>
<td>
<input type="password" name="Password" size="10">
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" colspan="2">
<input type="submit" value="Log in">
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
</div>
<?php
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
This page contains an HTML login form, which submits to itself (i.e, the action points to the
same page). A hidden field, LoggingIn, is passed to the server when the user submits the form.
The script checks to see if LoggingIn exists in the $_POST array. If it does, it processes the form
input:
$Email = $_POST['Email'];
$PW = $_POST['Password'];
if ($Email == 'jwayne@northwind.com' && $PW == 'cowboy')
{
echo '<div align="center">Success</div>';
}
else
{
echo '<div align="center">Login Failed</div>';
unset($_POST['LoggingIn']);
}
This code simply checks to see if the user's email and password match the hard-coded values
(jwayne@northwind.com and cowboy). If they do, it outputs a "success" message. If they don't,
it outputs a "failed" message and removes LoggingIn from the $_POST array, so that the form
will be displayed again.
Exercise: Authenticating Users

In this exercise, you will use mysqli or PEAR DB to authenticate users.

1. Open Authentication/Exercises/index.php in your editor. This file has been
created for you and contains the underlying logic of the authentication
application. You will see that it includes several of the scripts we saw in
earlier exercises. Most of these are exactly the same, but a small change has
been made to the pwEntry() function in
Authentication/Exercises/Includes/fnFormPresentation.php. It now takes a
fifth parameter: $Repeat. When $Repeat is set to true (default), the user will
be asked to repeat her password (used for registration forms). When $Repeat
is set to false, she'll just get a single password field (used for login forms).
2. Your job is to finish Authentication/Exercises/Includes/LoginForm.php and
Authentication/Exercises/Includes/Login.php, which are currently both nearly
empty. You may find it helpful to refer to
ManagingData/Demos/Includes/EmployeeForm.php when creating
LoginForm.php and to ManagingData/Demos/Includes/ProcessEmployee.php
when creating Login.php.
Code Sample: Authentication/Exercises/index.php

<?php
$Errors = array();
$DbEntries = array( 'Email'=>'',
'Password'=>'');
?>
<html>
<head>
<title>Northwind Home Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$msg='';
if (array_key_exists('LoggingIn',$_POST))
{
require 'Includes/Login.php';
}
if (!array_key_exists('LoggingIn',$_POST))
{
require 'Includes/LoginForm.php';
}
if (strlen($msg) > 0)
{
echo "<div align='center'>$msg</div>";
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Regular Expressions
1. To understand how regular expressions work.
2. To use regular expressions for advanced form validation.
Regular expressions are used to do sophisticated pattern matching. PHP supports two types of
regular expressions: POSIX and Perl. The Perl style is more powerful and much more common,
so we'll cover these in this class.
Perl-compatible Regular Expression

Functions
preg_match()
The syntax for preg_match() is as follows.
preg_match(pattern, text_to_search);
preg_match() returns 1 if pattern is found in text_to_search and 0 if it is not.
preg_replace()
The syntax for preg_replace() is as follows.
preg_replace(pattern, replacement, text_to_search);
preg_replace() replaces all instances of pattern in text_to_search with replacement.
Regular Expression Tester
We have created a simple PHP-based regular expression tester. The code for the tester is shown
below.
Code Sample: RegExp/Demos/Tester.php

<?php
@$Pattern = $_POST['Pattern'];
@$TextToSearch = $_POST['TextToSearch'];
?>
<html>
<head>
<title>Regular Expression Tester</title>
<style>
.reg {font-family:Verdana; font-size: 14pt; font-weight:bold;
color:darkblue; text-decoration:none; padding: 4px}
.reg:hover {border: 2px solid red; padding: 2px}
</style>
<script>
function usePattern(PATTERN)
{
document.formRE.Pattern.value=PATTERN;
document.getElementById("display").innerHTML="<b>PATTERN: </b>" + PATTERN;
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<h2><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Regular Expression
Tester</font></h2>
<form name="formRE" method="post">
<table>
<tr>
<td align="right"><font size="+2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Text
to search:</font></td>
<td><font size="+3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<input type="text" name="TextToSearch" value="<?= $TextToSearch ?>"
size="50" maxlength="50">
</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right"><font size="+2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
id="exp">Pattern:</font></td>
<td><font size="+3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<input type="text" name="Pattern" size="50" value="<?= $Pattern ?>"
maxlength="100">
</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" style="font-size:18pt; font-family:Arial,
Helvetica, sans-serif; background: #cccccc;">
<?php
if (empty($Pattern))
echo '<font color="blue">Let\'s play!</font>';
elseif (preg_match($Pattern,$TextToSearch))
echo '<font color="green">Match</font>';
else
echo '<font color="red">No Match</font>';
?>
</td>
</tr>
<tr align="center">
<td colspan="2"><font size="+2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
<input type="reset">
</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">
<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="4">
<tr>
<th><a href="javascript:usePattern('/^[a-zA-Z0-9_\\-\\.]+@[a-zA-Z0-9\\-]
+\\.[a-zA-Z0-9\\-\\.]+$/');" class="reg">Email</a></th>
<th><a href="javascript:usePattern('/^[0-9]{3}[\\- ]?[0-9]{2}[\\- ]?[0-9]
{4}$/');" class="reg">SSN</a></th>
<th><a href="javascript:usePattern('/^\$?[2-9][0-9]{2}\$?[\\- ]?[0-9]{3}
[\\- ]?[0-9]{4}$/');" class="reg">Phone</a></th>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
<div id="display" style="font-size:18pt; font-family:Courier
New"><b>PATTERN:</b> <?= $Pattern ?></div>
</body>
</html>
Regular Expression Syntax

A regular expression is a pattern that specifies a list of characters. In this section, we will look at
how those characters are specified. As we go through this section, we'll test some regular
expression in our browser using our regular expression tester at RegExp/Demos/Tester.php.
Start and End ( ^ $ )
A caret (^) at the beginning of a regular expression indicates that the string being searched must
start with this pattern.
• The pattern ^foo can be found in "food", but not in "barfood".
A dollar sign ($) at the end of a regular expression indicates that the string being searched must
end with this pattern.
• The pattern foo$ can be found in "curfoo", but not in "food".
Number of Occurrences ( ? + * {} )
The following symbols affect the number of occurrences of the preceding character (see
footnote): ?, +, *, and {}.
A questionmark (?) indicates that the preceding character should appear zero or one times in the
pattern.
• The pattern foo? can be found in "food" and "fod", but not "faod".
A plus sign (+) indicates that the preceding character should appear one or more times in the
pattern.
• The pattern fo+ can be found in "fod", "food" and "foood", but not "fd".
A asterisk (*) indicates that the preceding character should appear zero or more times in the
pattern.
• The pattern fo*d can be found in "fd", "fod" and "food".
Curly brackets with one parameter ( {n} ) indicate that the preceding character should appear
exactly n times in the pattern.
• The pattern fo{3}d can be found in "foood" , but not "food" or "fooood".
Curly brackets with two parameters ( {n1,n2} ) indicate that the preceding character should
appear between n1 and n2 times in the pattern.
• The pattern fo{2,4}d can be found in "food","foood" and "fooood", but not
"fod" or "foooood".
Curly brackets with one parameter and an empty second paramenter ( {n,} ) indicate that the
preceding character should appear at least n times in the pattern.
• The pattern fo{2,}d can be found in "food" and "foooood", but not "fod".
Common Characters ( . \d \D \w \W \s \S )
A period ( . ) represents any character except a newline.
• The pattern fo.d can be found in "food", "foad", "fo9d", and "fo*d".
Backslash-d ( \d ) represents any digit. It is the equivalent of [0-9].
• The pattern fo\dd can be found in "fo1d", "fo4d" and "fo0d", but not in "food"
or "fodd".
Backslash-D ( \D ) represents any character except a digit. It is the equivalent of [^0-9].
• The pattern fo\Dd can be found in "food" and "foad", but not in "fo4d".
Backslash-w ( \w ) represents any word character (letters, digits, and the underscore (_) ).
• The pattern fo\wd can be found in "food", "fo_d" and "fo4d", but not in "fo*d".
Backslash-W ( \W ) represents any character except a word character.
• The pattern fo\Wd can be found in "fo*d", "fo@d" and "fo.d", but not in
"food".
Backslash-s ( \s) represents any whitespace character (e.g, space, tab, newline, etc.).
• The pattern fo\sd can be found in "fo d", but not in "food".
Backslash-S ( \S ) represents any character except a whitespace character.
• The pattern fo\Sd can be found in "fo*d", "food" and "fo4d", but not in "fo d".
Grouping ( [] )
Square brackets ( [] ) are used to group options. This creates what is referred to as a "character
class".
• The pattern f[aeiou]d can be found in "fad" and "fed", but not in "food",
"faed" or "fd".
• The pattern f[aeiou]{2}d can be found in "faed" and "feod", but not in "fod",
"fed" or "fd".
Negation ( ^ )
When used after the opening square bracket of a character class, the caret ( ^ ) is used for
negation.
• The pattern f[^aeiou]d can be found in "fqd" and "f4d", but not in "fad" or
"fed".
Subpatterns ( () )
Parentheses ( () ) are used to capture subpatterns.
• The pattern f(oo)?d can be found in "food" and "fd", but not in "fod".
Alternatives ( | )
The pipe ( | ) is used to create optional patterns.
• The pattern foo$|^bar can be found in "foo" and "bar", but not "foobar".
Escape Character ( \ )
The backslash ( \ ) is used to escape special characters.
• The pattern fo\.d can be found in "fo.d", but not in "food" or "fo4d".
Form Validation Functions with Regular

Expressions
Regular expressions can be used to write sophisticated form validation functions. For example,
earlier in the course, we wrote a checkEmail() function that looked like this:
{
$Email = trim($Email);
if (!checkLength($Email,6))
{
return false;
}
elseif (!strpos($Email,'@'))
{
return false;
}
elseif (!strpos($Email,'.'))
{
return false;
}
elseif (strrpos($Email,'.') < strpos($Email,'@'))
{
return false;
}
return true;
}
We can use a regular expression to make this function both simpler and more powerful:
{
$EmailPattern = '/^(\w+\.)*\w+@(\w+\.)+[A-Za-z]+$/';
return preg_match($EmailPattern,$Email));
}
A nice thing about this is that we can use virtually the same function to do client-side validation
with JavaScript:
function checkEmail(EMAIL)
{
var reEmail = /^(\w+[\-\.])*\w+@(\w+\.)+[A-Za-z]+$/;
if (reEmail.test(EMAIL))
{
return true;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}
So, by using regular expressions in this way, you make it easy to create a similar function library
on the client side.
Session Control and Cookies
1. To maintain sessions to track user visits.

2. To write and read cookies.
In the lesson on authenticaion, we created a login form and learned to authenticate users by
comparing their emails and passwords to records in a database. In this lesson, we will use session
variables to remember that the users are logged in as they go from page to page and we will use
cookies to make it easier for users to log in on future visits.
Sessions
A session begins when a visiting client somehow identifies itself to the web server. The web
server assigns the client a unique session id, which the client uses to re-identify itself as it moves
from page to page on the website. Most of the time, these unique ids are stored in session cookies
that expire after the client hasn't interacted with the server for some amount of time. The amount
of time varies depending on the web application. For example, an online investment site might
have very short sessions, so that if a user leaves her computer without logging out, another user
who sits down at the same computer several minutes later cannot continue with the first user's
session.
Configuring Sessions
In PHP, session management is configured in the php.ini file. To have a user's session start as
soon as the user visits the website, the session.auto_start flag must be set to 1.
The session length is also set in the php.ini file with the session.gc_maxlifetime variable. The
default value is 1440 seconds (24 minutes).
Session Functions
The following table shows the most common session functions.
Starts new session if one does not exist. Continues current

session_start()
session if one exists.
session_unset
Unsets all session variables.
()
session_destr Kills session.

oy()
Together, the files below illustrate how sessions can be tracked.
Code Sample: Sessions/Demos/Session1.php

<?php
//Begin a session and create a session variable in
//the $_SESSION array.
session_start();
$_SESSION['Greeting'] = 'Hello world!';
echo $_SESSION['Greeting'];
?>
<hr/>
<a href="Session2.php">Next page</a>

<?php
//Continue session, show that session variable still
//exists and then unset the session variable
session_start();
unset($_SESSION['Greeting']);
?>
<a href="Session3.php">Next page</a>

<?php
//Continue session, show that session variable no longer
//exists and then kill session.
session_start();
session_unset();
session_destroy();
?>
Code Explanation
The code above illustrates the following points.
• Pages that are part of the session should begin with a call to session_start().
• Session variables are created in the $_SESSION array.
• Session variables are deleted in the same way as other variables â€“ using
the unset() function.
• All session variables can be unset with the session_unset() function. This
should be called before calling session_destroy().
• Sessions are killed with a call to session_destroy().
Cookies
Cookies are stored in text files that sit on the client machine. Web pages with the right
permissions can read from and write to cookies. They are generally used to track user
information between visits.
In PHP, cookies are set with the setcookie() function, which can take several parameters
including:
• The cookie's name (required).

• The cookie's value.
• The cookie's expiration date (if this isn't set, the cookie will expire when the
browser window is closed).
• The directory path on the server that can read the cookie.
• The domain name that can read the cookie.
• A flag indicating whether the cookie should only be read over https.
The following code will set a cookie that expires in one week.
setcookie('flavor','chocolate chip', time()+60*60*24*7);
There is no deletecookie() function. To delete a cookie, set the expiration date to sometime in the
past, like this.
setcookie('flavor','chocolate chip', time()-10000);
Cookies are set in the HTTP header, so they must be set before any HTML code is passed back
to the browser.
Exercise: Authentication with Session Control

In this exercise, you will create a login form that allows a user to log in to a site, rather than just
a page on the site. You will also modify several other pages so that their content changes based
on whether or not the user is logged in.
1. Open Sessions/Exercises/index.php in your editor. This file has been

completed for you. Note the following:
o At the top of the document, we start a session with session_start().
o We've added an outer if condition to the body to check if EmployeeID
already exists in the $_SESSION array. If it does, this means the user
has already logged in.
o if (array_key_exists('EmployeeID',$_SESSION))
o {
o echo '<div align="center">
o Logged in as ' .
o $_SESSION['FirstName'] . ' ' .
o $_SESSION['LastName'] .
o '</div>';
o }
o else
o {
o if (array_key_exists('LoggingIn',$_POST))
o {
o require 'Includes/Login.php';
o }
o if (!array_key_exists('LoggingIn',$_POST))
o {
o require 'Includes/LoginForm.php';
o }
o if (strlen($msg) > 0)
o {
o echo "<div align='center'>$msg</div>";
o }
o }
2. Open Sessions/Exercises/Includes/Login.php (you can use LoginPear.php if

you prefer) in your editor. Modify the code, so that when the user logs in, she
is remembered for the duration of her visit. You should remember her first
name, last name and employee id.
3. Sessions/Exercises/Includes/Footer.php has been changed to include a "Log
out" link, which points to Sessions/Exercises/Logout.php. Open
Sessions/Exercises/Logout.php in your editor. Add code to log the user out
(i.e, delete all session variables and kill the session).
4. Open Sessions/Exercises/OtherPage.php in your editor. Notice that it includes
Includes/LoginCheck.php.
5. Open Sessions/Exercises/Includes/LoginCheck.php in your editor. You will see
that it currently contains code to redirect the page to index.php. Modify this
script so that it only redirects to index.php if the user is not logged in.
Write code so that the user can indicate that she would like to be remembered between visits. If
she chooses to be remembered, she should not have to log in again for a week. You will need to
modify index.php, Includes/LoginForm.php, Includes/Login.php and Includes/Logout.php. You
may also find it useful to create a new include file (e.g, CookieCheck.php) to hold the code that
checks for the cookie
Sending Email with PHP

1. To send emails using PHP's built-in mail() function.

2. To send email using PHPMailer, a PHP extension with more features than
mail().
mail()
PHP has a built-in mail() function that makes it easy to send email.
Mail Parameters
Method Description
To The address to send the email to.
Subject The email's subject.
Message The body of the email.
Additional
Optional. Additional headers (e.g, From, Reply-To)
Headers
Additional Optional. Any additional parameters you may want to send to

Parameters your mail server.
Code Sample: Email/Demos/Mail.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Mail()</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
if (!array_key_exists('Submitted',$_POST))
{
?>
<form method="post" action="Mail.php">
<input type="hidden" name="Submitted" value="true"/>
Mail Server: <input type="text" name="Host" size="25"/><br/>
To: <input type="text" name="To" size="25"/><br/>
From: <input type="text" name="From" size="25"/><br/>
Subject: <input type="text" name="Subject" size="25"/><br/>
<textarea name="Message" cols="50" rows="10"></textarea><br/>
<input type="submit" value="Send Email"/>
</form>
<?php
}
else
{
ini_set('SMTP',$_POST['Host']);
$To = $_POST['To'];
$From = 'From: ' . $_POST['From'];
$Subject = $_POST['Subject'];
$Message = $_POST['Message'];
if(mail($To,$Subject,$Message,$From))
{
echo "Message Sent";
}
else
{
echo "Message Not Sent";
}
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
For this example to work, you will need to have a mail server set up on your server.
The first time a visitor hits the page, he'll be presented with a form. When the user fills out and
submits that form, the mail() function will attempt to send an email to the address the user
entered.
Note that the mail server is set with the ini_set() function, which is used to temporarily change
configuration settings. You can set the default mail server in the php.ini file with the SMTP
setting.
Shortcomings of mail()
The mail() function has many limitations.
• No support for SMTP authentication.

• Difficult to send HTML-formatted emails.
• Difficult to add attachments.
Luckily, there are extensions that do provide these features.
PHPMailer
A very good email extension is PHPMailer, which is available for free at
http://phpmailer.sourceforge.net. We will use PHPMailer in our examples and exercises. The
following tables show some of the more common methods and properties of PHPMailer.
PHPMailer Methods
Method Description
AddAddress() Adds a "To" address.
AddAttachme
Adds an attachment from a path on the filesystem.
nt()
AddBCC() Adds a "bcc" address.

PHPMailer Methods
Method Description
AddCC() Adds a "cc" address.
AddReplyTo() Adds a "Reply-to" address.
IsHTML() Sets message type to HTML.
IsSMTP() Sets Mailer to send message using SMTP.
Creates message and assigns Mailer. If the message is not sent

Send()
successfully then it returns false.
PHPMailer Properties
Propert
Description
y
AltBody Sets the text-only body of the message.
Sets the Body of the message. This can be either an HTML or text
Body
body.
ErrorInfo Holds the most recent mailer error message.
From Sets the From email address for the message.
FromNa
Sets the From name of the message.
me
Host Sets the SMTP hosts. All hosts must be separated by semicolons.
Password Sets SMTP password.
SMTPAut Sets SMTP authentication. Utilizes the Username and Password

h properties.
Subject Sets the Subject of the message.
Usernam
Sets SMTP username.
e
WordWra Sets word wrapping on the body of the message to a given

p number of characters.
Code Sample: Email/Demos/PHPMailer.php
<html>
<head>
<title>PHPMailer</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
if (!array_key_exists('Submitted',$_POST))
{
?>
<form method="post" action="PHPMailer.php">
<input type="hidden" name="Submitted" value="true"/><br/>
Mail Server: <input type="text" name="Host" size="25"/><br/>
If authentication is required:<br/>
Username: <input type="text" name="Username" size="25"/><br/>
Password: <input type="password" name="Password" size="10"/>
<hr/>
To: <input type="text" name="To" size="25"/><br/>
From Email: <input type="text" name="From" size="25"/><br/>
From Name: <input type="text" name="FromName" size="25"/><br/>
Subject: <input type="text" name="Subject" size="25"/><br/>
<textarea name="Message" cols="50" rows="10"></textarea><br/>
Using HTML: <input type="checkbox" name="HTML"/>
<input type="submit" value="Send Email"/>
</form>
<?php
}
else
{
require("class.phpmailer.php");
$To = $_POST['To'];
$From = $_POST['From'];
$FromName = $_POST['FromName'];
$Subject = $_POST['Subject'];
$Message = $_POST['Message'];
$Host = $_POST['Host'];
if (array_key_exists('HTML',$_POST))
{
$HTML = true;
$Mail->Username=$_POST['Username'];
$Mail->Password=$_POST['Password'];
}
else
{
$HTML = false;
}
$Mail = new PHPMailer();
$Mail->IsSMTP(); // send via SMTP

$Mail->Host = $Host; //SMTP server
if (array_key_exists('Username',$_POST))
{
$Mail->SMTPAuth=true;
}
else
{
$Mail->SMTPAuth=false;
}
$Mail->From = $From;
$Mail->FromName = $FromName;
$Mail->AddAddress($To);
$Mail->AddReplyTo($From);
$Mail->WordWrap = 50; // set word wrap

$Mail->IsHTML($HTML);
$Mail->Subject = $Subject;
$Mail->Body = $Message;
if($Mail->Send())
{
echo "Message Sent";
}
else
{
echo "Message Not Sent<br/>";
echo "Mailer Error: " . $Mail->ErrorInfo;
}
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
As you can see, PHPMailer comes with a full set of intuitive methods and properties that make
sending emails very easy.
Exercise: Sending a Password by Email

In this exercise, you will create a Password Reminder page that allows users to have their
passwords sent to them by email.
1. Open Mail/Exercises/PasswordReminder.php in your editor.

2. This page contains a simple form that submits to the same page.
3. In the else block of the if condition add code that sends the user her
password, which you'll need to get from the Northwind database.
4. BCC yourself on the email. You'll need this to check to see that your solution
is working.
5. If the email fails to send, output the error to the browser. Otherwise, let the
user know the password has been sent.
6. Test your solution in your browser.
File System Management
1. To read from files on the server.

2. To write to files on the server.
3. To upload files to the server.
4. To get information about files on the server.
5. To access and work with directories on the server.
Most Web applications use databases to store large amounts of data. However, in some cases, it
will be necessary to store data in or access data from files.
Opening a File
fopen()
Syntax
fopen (path_to_file, file_mode)
path_to_file can either be a relative or an absolute path.
File Modes
File
Description
Mode
r open for reading
open for writing (erases existing content); creates new file if one doesn't
w
exist
a open for appending to end of content; creates new file if one doesn't exist
create and open for writing (new in PHP 4.3.2); fails and returns false if file
x
already exists
r+ open for reading and writing (erases existing content when file is written to)
open for writing and reading (erases existing content on opening or creates
w+
new file if one doesn't exist
a+ open for appending and writing; creates new file if one doesn't exist
create and open for writing and reading (new in PHP 4.3.2); fails and returns
x+
false if file already exists
File Permissions
Files that do no have the appropriate permissions settings will fail to open. In this case, the
fopen() function will return false and a warning will be given. Use conditional processing as
shown below to handle this situation.
$MyFile = @fopen('MyFile.txt','a');
if (!$MyFile)
{
echo '<b>Sorry, but the file cannot be opened.</b>';
}
else
{
// code for processing file
}
The @ symbol in front of first line of code is used to suppress errors. Any errors can then be
handled more gracefully.
Reading from a File

Opening a file for reading involves three steps:
1. Open the file.

2. Read the file.
3. Close the file.
fgets()
fgets() is used to read a file one line at a time. It requires one argument: the resource or "handle"
for the file and accepts a second argument: the length of the line. It will continue reading the line
until the length - 1 have been read or it reaches the end of the line or the end of the file. If the
second argument is not included, it will continue reading until it reaches the end of the line.
Examine the file shown below.
Code Sample: Files/Demos/Employees.txt

Nancy Davolio Sales Representative ndavolio@northwind.com
Andrew Fuller Vice President, Sales afuller@northwind.com
Janet Leverling Sales Representative jleverling@northwind.com
Margaret Peacock Sales Representative mpeacock@northwind.com
Steven Buchanan Sales Manager sbuchanan@northwind.com
Michael Suyama Sales Representative msuyama@northwind.com
Robert King Sales Representative rking@northwind.com
Laura Callahan Inside Sales Coordinator lcallahan@northwind.com
Anne Dodsworth Sales Representative adodsworth@northwind.com
Code Explanation
Employees.txt is a tab-delimited text file. Each line is formatted as follows:
FirstName\tLastName\tTitle\tEmail\n
The file is divided into "columns" using tabs (\t) and each "row" is separated by a newline
character (\n). The code below opens Employees.txt, reads and displays each line, and closes the
file.
Code Sample: Files/Demos/Employees.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Employees</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Employees</h1>
<?php
$MyFile = @fopen("Employees.txt", 'r');
if (!$MyFile)
{
echo '<p>Cannot open file.';
}
else
{
while (!feof($MyFile))
{
$Employee = fgets($MyFile, 999);
echo $Employee.'<br />';
}
fclose($MyFile);
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Other options for reading from files
Functi
Description
on
fgetss() Like fgets() but it strips out HTML and PHP tags.
fgetcsv Like fgets() but it splits the file on a specified delimiter rather than a
() newline character.
readfile
Opens a file, sends its contents to the browser, and closes the file.
()
Opens a file, splits it into an array on newline characters, and closes

file()
the file.
Writing to a File
Opening a file for writing involves three steps:
1. Open the file.

2. Write to the file.
3. Close the file.
fwrite()
Syntax
fwrite(file_pointer,output_string)
The output_string is the text to write to the file. See the following example of writing to a file.
$OutputString='text to write';
$MyFile = @fopen('Employees.txt', 'a');
fwrite($MyFile, $OutputString);
fclose($MyFile);
Exercise: Writing to a File

In this exercise you will write code to append entries to the Employees.txt.
1. Open Files/Exercises/AddEmployee.php in your editor.

2. Create short versions of the form variables.
3. Write code to save the entry in Employees.txt, which is in the same directory.
The steps involved are:
1. Open Employees.txt for appending. Be sure to suppress errors.
2. Write a condition that checks to see if the file failed to open.
3. If it did open, write the output string to the file and close the file.
File Locking
flock() (see footnote)
flock() is used to lock a file so that two or more people do not get access to it at the same time.
This helps protect the file from being corrupted. flock() takes two arguments: a file handler and a
lock type.
Lock
Explanation
Type
LOCK_S
Reading lock. Others can read file.
H
LOCK_E
Exclusive lock. The file cannot be opened by others.
X
LOCK_U
Unlocks file.
N
LOCK_N If a file is already locked by another user, flock() waits to get a lock.
B LOCK_NB tells it not to wait.
The code below shows how we should change Files/Solutions/AddEntry.php to protect

Employees.txt from being corrupted.
Code Sample: Files/Demos/Locking.php

flock($MyFile, LOCK_EX);
fwrite($MyFile,$OutputString);
flock($MyFile, LOCK_UN);
fclose($MyFile);
Uploading Files via an HTML Form (see

footnote)
In order to upload files via an HTML form, the form tag's method must be set to "post" and the
enctype must be set to "multipart/form-data" as shown below.
Syntax
<form method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">
The following example demonstrates how to safely allow the user to upload a file to the server.
Code Sample: Files/Demos/FileUpload.php

<html>
<head>
<title>Resume Upload</title>
</head>
<body style="text-align:center">
<?php
if (!array_key_exists('Submitted',$_POST)) {
?>
<h2>Resume Upload Form</h2>
<form method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data">
<input type="hidden" name="Submitted" value="true">
<table border="1">
<tr>
<td>First Name</td>
<td><input type="text" name="FirstName" size="20"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Last Name</td>
<td><input type="text" name="LastName" size="20"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Resume</td>
<td><input type="file" name="Resume"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center"><input type="submit" value="Upload"></td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
<?php
} else {
//process the form
$ResumeFile = $_FILES['Resume']['tmp_name'];
$FileSize = $_FILES['Resume']['size'];
$FileType = $_FILES['Resume']['type'];
$FileError = $_FILES['Resume']['error'];
$ResumeName=$_POST['FirstName'] . '_' .
$_POST['LastName'] . '_Resume.txt';
if ($FileError)
{
echo "We could not upload the file:<br/>$FileError";
EndPage();
}
elseif ($FileType != 'text/plain')
{
echo "You have attempted to upload a file of type: $FileType.
<br/>Only text files allowed.";
EndPage();
}
$FileSavePath = 'Resumes/' . $ResumeName;

if (is_uploaded_file($ResumeFile))
{
if (!move_uploaded_file($ResumeFile,$FileSavePath))
{
echo 'Could not save file.';
EndPage();
}
}
else
{
//This case happens if somehow the file
//we are working with was already on the server.
//It's to stop hackers.
echo 'Hey, what is going on here?
Are you being bad?';
EndPage();
}
$Resume=makeFileSafe($FileSavePath);
?>
<h2>Thanks!</h2>
<b>We got your resume.</b><hr>
<form>
<textarea cols="60" rows="20"><?echo $Resume?></textarea>
</form>
</p>
<?php
}
function EndPage()
{
echo '</body></html>';
exit;
}
function makeFileSafe($FilePath)
{
$FP = @fopen($FilePath,'r+');
if (!$FP)
{
return "Could not read file";
}
$Contents = fread($FP,filesize($FilePath));
$Contents = strip_tags($Contents);
rewind($FP);
fwrite($FP,$Contents);
fclose($FP);
return $Contents;
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
The first thing to notice about this page is that it submits to itself. The first time it is loaded, it
will show the form. When the form is submitted, it will attempt to upload and save the user's
resume.
1. The form also has an input field of type file that is used to browse for the file
to upload.
2. When the form is submitted, the script assigns values to short named
variables.
3. The next block of code is the if-elseif-elseif statement, which checks for
errors. If it finds any, it displays an appropriate message and calls the
EndPage() user function, which just closes the HTML page.
4. The next piece of code attempts to upload the file:
5. if (is_uploaded_file($ResumeFile))
6. {
7. if (!move_uploaded_file($ResumeFile,$FileSavePath))
8. {
9. echo 'Could not save file.';
10. EndPage();
11. }
12. }
13. else
14. {
15. //This case happens if somehow the file
16. //we are working with was already on the server.
17. //It's to stop hackers.
18. echo 'Hey, what is going on here?
19. Are you being bad?';
20. EndPage();
}
21.The last bit of PHP code on the page calls the makeFileSafe() user function
which opens the resume file, strips out all the tags from its contents and
closes it.
Getting File Information

The following code sample illustrates how to get information about a file using PHP.
Code Sample: Files/Demos/FileInfo.php

<html>
<head>
<title>File Details</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$CurrentDir = 'Resumes/';
$File = basename('J_C_Resume.txt');
echo '<h1>Details of file: ' . $File.'</h1>';
$File = $CurrentDir.$File;
echo '<h2>File data</h2>';

echo 'File last accessed: ' .
date('j F Y H:i', fileatime($File)) . '<br/>';
echo 'File last modified: ' .
date('j F Y H:i', filemtime($File)).'<br/>';
echo 'File type: ' . filetype($File).'<br/>';
echo 'File size: '.filesize($File).' bytes<br/>';
echo '<h2>File tests</h2>';

echo 'is_dir: ' .
(is_dir($File)? 'true' : 'false') . '<br/>';
echo 'is_file: ' .
(is_file($File)? 'true' : 'false').'<br/>';
echo 'is_readable: ' .
(is_readable($File)? 'true' : 'false').'<br/>';
echo 'is_writable: ' .
(is_writable($File)? 'true' : 'false').'<br/>';
?>
</body>
</html>
Code Explanation
The functions used in this script are described in the following table.
basename
Strips off the path and returns the file name.
()
fileatime() Returns the last accessed time of the file.
filemtime(
Returns the last modified time of the file.
)
filetype() Returns the type of file (e.g, file or dir).
filesize() Returns the size of the file in bytes.
Returns true if the passed value is a directory,

is_dir()
false if it isn't.
Returns true if the passed value is a file, false if

is_file()
it isn't.
is_readabl
Returns true if the file is readable, false if it isn't.
e()
is_writable
Returns true if the file is writable, false if it isn't.
()
More File Functions

A few more file functions are shown below:
file_exists(path_to_
Checks to see if a file exists.
file)
filesize(path_to_file
Returns the size of file in bytes.
)
unlink(path_to_file) Deletes the file.

Copies a file. Takes two arguments: the path to the source file
copy()
and the destination to copy the source file to.
Moves a file. Takes two arguments: the path to the source file
and the destination to move the source file to. If the path and
rename()
destination are the same with the exception of the filename,
rename() simply renames the file.
Directory Functions
The following table shows some of the more common directory functions.
Functi
Description
on
mkdir() Creates a directory.
rmdir() Deletes a directory.
opendir
Opens a directory for reading.
()
readdir( Reads the contents of an open

) directory.
Getting a Directory Listing
To get a directory listing, use the opendir() function to open the directory and the readdir()
function to read its contents. Then loop through its contents with a while loop outputting the
name of each file and folder.
Exercise: Creating a Resume Management Page

In this exercise, you will create a simple resume management page that will list all the resumes
currently in the resumes folder and allow you to remove resumes from the folder.
1. Open Files/Exercises/FileListing.php in your editor. Much of the file is done

already.
2. Complete the fileDetails() function so that it will properly display the details
of the passed file.
3. At the end of the if block of the fileDetails() function there is a "Delete File"
link. Modify this link so that it passes the file path in the "Delete" variable via
the query string.
4. Write the browseDir() function.
5. Write the deleteFile() function.
Write a renameFile() function and add a form to the fileDetails() function that allows the user to
provide a new name for the file.
File System Management Conclusion

Although writing to and reading from files can be useful in certain situations, when it is
important to be able to access and change data quickly and to maintain the integrity of that data,
it is often better to use a database.
Many websites allow visitors to upload files via a form. In this lesson, we have stored those files
in a directory under the web root. For security reasons, this is generally not a good idea. In
practice, you should store any uploaded files above or outside of the web root.

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PHP Basics

In this lesson of the PHP tutorial, you will learn...

1. How PHP works.

How PHP Works

Basic PHP Syntax

<?php This is the most commonly used (and recommended) form. It is

PHP Statements and Whitespace

PHP statements must be inside of PHP tags to be processed by the PHP

PHP has two forms of comments:

• Single-line comments begin with a double slash (//).

The example below shows how the phpinfo() function works.

Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/PhpInfo.php

PHP functions are well documented at http://www.php.net. You can quickly

It is an unwritten rule that every programming course must contain a "Hello

Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/HelloWorld.php

Notice the following about the above code:

• Code between <?php and ?> is processed by the PHP interpreter.

Integer whole number

Double real number

Boolean true or false

Array list of items

Variable Names (Identifiers (see footnote))

• consist of letters, digits, underscores and dollar signs

PHP is weakly typed, meaning that variables do not need to be assigned a

Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/HelloVariables.php

Exercise: First PHP Script

1. Open a new document and save it as Today.php in the PhpBasics/Exercises

superglob Superglobal variables are predefined arrays, including $_POST and

Again, superglobal variables are predefined arrays, including $_POST and

• $_GET - variables passed into a page on the query string.

The elements within superglobal variables can be accessed in three different

Style Syntax (using $_GET) Notes

• Convenient, but it makes it difficult to

• Requires register_globals config setting to be

• Not available before v. 4.1.

Many of these superglobals will be covered later in the course.

Variable-Testing and Manipulation Functions (see footnote)

PHP provides built-in functions for checking if a variable exists, checking if a

Checks to see if a variable exists. Returns true or

empty( Checks to see if a variable contains a non-empty, empty($

Ternary $foo = ($age >= 18) ? 'adult'

Creating Dynamic Pages

Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/SingleQuotes.php

Because of the use of single quotes above, the string "\tHello\n$person!!"

Passing Variables on the URL

A common way to pass values from the browser to the server is by

Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/HelloHi.html

Code Sample: PhpBasics/Demos/HelloHi.php

Notice the following about the code above.

• Variable names begin with a dollar sign ($).

Exercise: Passing Variables via the Query String

1. Open PhpBasics/Exercises/HelloWho.html in your editor. You will see that it is

PHP Basics Conclusion

1. To work with if-elseif-else conditions in PHP.

The following table shows PHP's comparison operators.

> Is greater than

< Is less than

>= Is greater than or equal to

<= Is less than or equal to

Identical (same value and

!== Not Identical

The following example demonstrates an if-elseif-else statement.