Learning PHP

Course details

PHP remains one most popular server-side languages used to build dynamic websites. Although it is not especially difficult to use, nonprogrammers often find it intimidating. This introductory course was designed to change that by teaching you PHP through a series of clear, focused, and easy-to-follow lessons. After briefly explaining what PHP is, instructor Joe Casabona introduces the features of the language. Joe covers control structures, variables, arguments, and person class in a series of hands-on exercises. He then moves on to more advanced topics, including try/catch statements, resolving changes between versions of PHP, and form validation. Upon wrapping up this course, you'll have the skills you need to start developing and maintaining interactive websites using PHP.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Should you learn PHP
02 - A note on PHP 8.0
03 - Developing locally

1. The Basics

04 - How PHP works
05 - Printing on the screen
06 - Using variables
07 - Single vs. double quotes
08 - What are arrays and how do they work
09 - Defining arrays
10 - Challenge - Display basic information on an HTML page
11 - Solution - Display basic information on an HTML page

2. Control Structures

12 - Boolean operators and the truth (update for PHP 8.0)
13 - Logical operators
14 - Creating if else statements
15 - Ternary operations
16 - Switch statements
17 - Match expression
18 - Challenge - Display content based on status
19 - Solution - Display content based on status

3. Math in PHP

20 - Arithmetic operators
21 - Figuring out even odd with modulus
22 - Incrementing and decrementing variables
23 - Challenge - Implementing a complicated calculation
24 - Solution - Implementing a complicated calculation

4. Loops

25 - What are loops
26 - Do while loops
27 - For loops
28 - Working through arrays with foreach loops
29 - Challenge - Calculating the Fibonacci sequence
30 - Solution - Calculating the Fibonacci sequence

5. Functions and Objects

31 - What are functions
32 - Using built-in functions
33 - Writing custom functions
34 - Union typing variables
35 - Optional or named arguments
36 - Anonymous functions
37 - What are objects and classes
38 - Defining a simple person class (update for PHP 8.0)
39 - Using the person class
40 - Challenge - Sort an array of objects
41 - Solution - Sort an array of objects

6. Including External Files

42 - Organizing your code
43 - Using include and require
44 - include once and require once
45 - Namespacing
46 - Challenge - Build a simple templating system for the provided markup
47 - Solution - Build a simple templating system for the provided markup

7. Troubleshooting Your Code

48 - Common debugging tools in PHP
49 - Types of PHP errors
50 - Why is my page blank
51 - Common parse errors
52 - Common PHP errors
53 - Try catch statements (update for PHP 8.0)
54 - Breaking changes moving from 7.x to 8.0

8. Processing Forms

55 - GET vs. POST
56 - Handling basic form elements
57 - Handing multiple-choice elements
58 - Form validation - Making sure required fields are filled in
59 - Form validation - Appropriate input
60 - Form validation - Sanitizing input
61 - Sending the form data in an email
62 - Challenge - Process a simple form and send the email
63 - Solution - Process a simple form and send the email

9. Advanced Topics

64 - Reading files in PHP
65 - Writing files
66 - Maintaining state with cookies
67 - Maintaining state with sessions

Conclusion

68 - Next steps