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What You Should Already Know: PHP Is A Server-Side Scripting Language

The document provides an introduction to PHP, including what PHP is, how PHP files work, how PHP interacts with MySQL, and basic PHP syntax. Key points include: PHP is a server-side scripting language used to create dynamic web pages; PHP files contain HTML tags and PHP code and are executed on the server; PHP supports many databases including MySQL; and PHP code is placed within <?php ?> tags. The document also covers PHP variables, strings, and common operators.

Uploaded by

Daniel Esp
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
105 views

What You Should Already Know: PHP Is A Server-Side Scripting Language

The document provides an introduction to PHP, including what PHP is, how PHP files work, how PHP interacts with MySQL, and basic PHP syntax. Key points include: PHP is a server-side scripting language used to create dynamic web pages; PHP files contain HTML tags and PHP code and are executed on the server; PHP supports many databases including MySQL; and PHP code is placed within <?php ?> tags. The document also covers PHP variables, strings, and common operators.

Uploaded by

Daniel Esp
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PHP Introduction

PHP is a server-side scripting language.

What You Should Already Know


Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

 HTML/XHTML
 JavaScript

What is PHP?
 PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
 PHP is a server-side scripting language, like ASP
 PHP scripts are executed on the server
 PHP supports many databases (MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic
ODBC, etc.)
 PHP is an open source software
 PHP is free to download and use

What is a PHP File?


 PHP files can contain text, HTML tags and scripts
 PHP files are returned to the browser as plain HTML 
 PHP files have a file extension of ".php", ".php3", or ".phtml"

What is MySQL?
 MySQL is a database server
 MySQL is ideal for both small and large applications
 MySQL supports standard SQL
 MySQL compiles on a number of platforms
 MySQL is free to download and use

PHP + MySQL
 PHP combined with MySQL are cross-platform (you can develop in Windows and serve on a
Unix platform)
Why PHP?
 PHP runs on different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.)
 PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
 PHP is FREE to download from the official PHP resource: www.php.net
 PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side

Where to Start?
To get access to a web server with PHP support, you can:

 Install Apache (or IIS) on your own server, install PHP, and MySQL
 Or find a web hosting plan with PHP and MySQL support

What do you Need?


If your server supports PHP you don't need to do anything.

Just create some .php files in your web directory, and the server will parse them for you. Because it is
free, most web hosts offer PHP support.

However, if your server does not support PHP, you must install PHP.

Here is a link to a good tutorial from PHP.net on how to install PHP5:


http://www.php.net/manual/en/install.php

Download PHP
Download PHP for free here: http://www.php.net/downloads.php

Download MySQL Database


Download MySQL for free here: http://www.mysql.com/downloads/index.html

Download Apache Server


Download Apache for free here: http://httpd.apache.org/download.cgi
PHP Syntax

PHP code is executed on the server, and the plain HTML result is sent to the browser.

Basic PHP Syntax


A PHP scripting block always starts with <?php and ends with ?>. A PHP scripting block can be placed
anywhere in the document.

On servers with shorthand support enabled you can start a scripting block with <? and end with ?>.

For maximum compatibility, we recommend that you use the standard form (<?php) rather than the
shorthand form.

<?php
?>

A PHP file normally contains HTML tags, just like an HTML file, and some PHP scripting code.

Below, we have an example of a simple PHP script which sends the text "Hello World" to the browser:

<html>
<body>

<?php
echo "Hello World";
?>

</body>
</html>

Each code line in PHP must end with a semicolon. The semicolon is a separator and is used to
distinguish one set of instructions from another.

There are two basic statements to output text with PHP: echo and print. In the example above we
have used the echo statement to output the text "Hello World".

Note: The file must have a .php extension. If the file has a .html extension, the PHP code will not be
executed.
Comments in PHP
In PHP, we use // to make a single-line comment or /* and */ to make a large comment block.

<html>
<body>

<?php
//This is a comment

/*
This is
a comment
block
*/
?>

</body>
</html>
PHP Variables

A variable is used to store information.

Variables in PHP
Variables are used for storing a values, like text strings, numbers or arrays.

When a variable is declared, it can be used over and over again in your script.

All variables in PHP start with a $ sign symbol.

The correct way of declaring a variable in PHP:

$var_name = value;

New PHP programmers often forget the $ sign at the beginning of the variable. In that case it will not
work.

Let's try creating a variable containing a string, and a variable containing a number:

<?php
$txt="Hello World!";
$x=16;
?>

PHP is a Loosely Typed Language


In PHP, a variable does not need to be declared before adding a value to it.

In the example above, you see that you do not have to tell PHP which data type the variable is.

PHP automatically converts the variable to the correct data type, depending on its value.

In a strongly typed programming language, you have to declare (define) the type and name of the
variable before using it.

In PHP, the variable is declared automatically when you use it.


Naming Rules for Variables
 A variable name must start with a letter or an underscore "_"
 A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores (a-z, A-Z, 0-9,
and _ )
 A variable name should not contain spaces. If a variable name is more than one word, it
should be separated with an underscore ($my_string), or with capitalization ($myString)

PHP String Variables

A string variable is used to store and manipulate text.

String Variables in PHP


String variables are used for values that contains characters.

In this chapter we are going to look at the most common functions and operators used to manipulate
strings in PHP.

After we create a string we can manipulate it. A string can be used directly in a function or it can be
stored in a variable.

Below, the PHP script assigns the text "Hello World" to a string variable called $txt:

<?php
$txt="Hello World";
echo $txt;
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Hello World

Now, lets try to use some different functions and operators to manipulate the string.
The Concatenation Operator
There is only one string operator in PHP.

The concatenation operator (.)  is used to put two string values together.

To concatenate two string variables together, use the concatenation operator:

<?php
$txt1="Hello World!";
$txt2="What a nice day!";
echo $txt1 . " " . $txt2;
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Hello World! What a nice day!

If we look at the code above you see that we used the concatenation operator two times. This is
because we had to insert a third string (a space character), to separate the two strings.

The strlen() function


The strlen() function is used to return the length of a string.

Let's find the length of a string:

<?php
echo strlen("Hello world!");
?>

The output of the code above will be:

12

The length of a string is often used in loops or other functions, when it is important to know when the
string ends. (i.e. in a loop, we would want to stop the loop after the last character in the string).
The strpos() function
The strpos() function is used to search for character within a string.

If a match is found, this function will return the position of the first match. If no match is found, it will
return FALSE.

Let's see if we can find the string "world" in our string:

<?php
echo strpos("Hello world!","world");
?>

The output of the code above will be:

The position of the string "world" in our string is position 6. The reason that it is 6 (and not 7), is that
the first position in the string is 0, and not 1.
PHP Operators

Operators are used to operate on values.

PHP Operators
This section lists the different operators used in PHP.

Arithmetic Operators

Operator Description Example Result

+ Addition x=2 4
x+2

- Subtraction x=2 3
5-x

* Multiplication x=4 20
x*5

/ Division 15/5 3
5/2 2.5

% Modulus (division remainder) 5%2 1


10%8 2
10%2 0

++ Increment x=5 x=6


x++

-- Decrement x=5 x=4


x--

Assignment Operators

Operator Example Is The Same As

= x=y x=y

+= x+=y x=x+y

-= x-=y x=x-y

*= x*=y x=x*y
/= x/=y x=x/y

.= x.=y x=x.y

%= x%=y x=x%y

Comparison Operators

Operator Description Example

== is equal to 5==8 returns false

!= is not equal 5!=8 returns true

<> is not equal 5<>8 returns true

> is greater than 5>8 returns false

< is less than 5<8 returns true

>= is greater than or equal to 5>=8 returns false

<= is less than or equal to 5<=8 returns true

Logical Operators

Operator Description Example

&& and x=6


y=3

(x < 10 && y > 1) returns true


|| or x=6
y=3

(x==5 || y==5) returns false


! not x=6
y=3

!(x==y) returns true

PHP If...Else Statements


Conditional statements are used to perform different actions based on different
conditions.

Conditional Statements
Very often when you write code, you want to perform different actions for different decisions.

You can use conditional statements in your code to do this.

In PHP we have the following conditional statements:

 if statement - use this statement to execute some code only if a specified condition is true
 if...else statement - use this statement to execute some code if a condition is true and
another code if the condition is false
 if...elseif....else statement - use this statement to select one of several blocks of code to be
executed
 switch statement - use this statement to select one of many blocks of code to be executed

The if Statement
Use the if statement to execute some code only if a specified condition is true.

Syntax
if (condition) code to be executed if condition is true;

The following example will output "Have a nice weekend!" if the current day is Friday:

<html>
<body>

<?php
$d=date("D");
if ($d=="Fri") echo "Have a nice weekend!";
?>

</body>
</html>

Notice that there is no ..else.. in this syntax. You tell the browser to execute some code only if the
specified condition is true.
The if...else Statement
Use the if....else statement to execute some code if a condition is true and another code if a condition
is false.

Syntax
if (condition)
  code to be executed if condition is true;
else
  code to be executed if condition is false;

Example

The following example will output "Have a nice weekend!" if the current day is Friday, otherwise it will
output "Have a nice day!":

<html>
<body>

<?php
$d=date("D");
if ($d=="Fri")
  echo "Have a nice weekend!";
else
  echo "Have a nice day!";
?>

</body>
</html>

If more than one line should be executed if a condition is true/false, the lines should be enclosed
within curly braces:

<html>
<body>
<?php
$d=date("D");
if ($d=="Fri")
  {
  echo "Hello!<br />";
  echo "Have a nice weekend!";
  echo "See you on Monday!";
  }
?>
</body>
</html>
The if...elseif....else Statement
Use the if....elseif...else statement to select one of several blocks of code to be executed.

Syntax
if (condition)
  code to be executed if condition is true;
elseif (condition)
  code to be executed if condition is true;
else
  code to be executed if condition is false;

Example

The following example will output "Have a nice weekend!" if the current day is Friday, and "Have a
nice Sunday!" if the current day is Sunday. Otherwise it will output "Have a nice day!":

<html>
<body>

<?php
$d=date("D");
if ($d=="Fri")
  echo "Have a nice weekend!";
elseif ($d=="Sun")
  echo "Have a nice Sunday!";
else
  echo "Have a nice day!";
?>

</body>
</html>

PHP Switch Statement


Conditional statements are used to perform different actions based on different
conditions.

The PHP Switch Statement


Use the switch statement to select one of many blocks of code to be executed.

Syntax
switch (n)
{
case label1:
  code to be executed if n=label1;
  break;
case label2:
  code to be executed if n=label2;
  break;
default:
  code to be executed if n is different from both label1 and label2;
}

This is how it works: First we have a single expression n (most often a variable), that is evaluated
once. The value of the expression is then compared with the values for each case in the structure. If
there is a match, the block of code associated with that case is executed. Use break to prevent the
code from running into the next case automatically. The default statement is used if no match is
found.

Example
<html>
<body>

<?php
switch ($x)
{
case 1:
  echo "Number 1";
  break;
case 2:
  echo "Number 2";
  break;
case 3:
  echo "Number 3";
  break;
default:
  echo "No number between 1 and 3";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

PHP Arrays

An array stores multiple values in one single variable.

What is an Array?
A variable is a storage area holding a number or text. The problem is, a variable will hold only one
value.

An array is a special variable, which can store multiple values in one single variable.

If you have a list of items (a list of car names, for example), storing the cars in single variables could
look like this:

$cars1="Saab";
$cars2="Volvo";
$cars3="BMW";

However, what if you want to loop through the cars and find a specific one? And what if you had not 3
cars, but 300?

The best solution here is to use an array!

An array can hold all your variable values under a single name. And you can access the values by
referring to the array name.

Each element in the array has its own index so that it can be easily accessed.

In PHP, there are three kind of arrays:

 Numeric array - An array with a numeric index


 Associative array - An array where each ID key is associated with a value
 Multidimensional array - An array containing one or more arrays

Numeric Arrays
A numeric array stores each array element with a numeric index.

There are two methods to create a numeric array.

1. In the following example the index are automatically assigned (the index starts at 0):

$cars=array("Saab","Volvo","BMW","Toyota");

2. In the following example we assign the index manually:

$cars[0]="Saab";
$cars[1]="Volvo";
$cars[2]="BMW";
$cars[3]="Toyota";

Example

In the following example you access the variable values by referring to the array name and index:

<?php
$cars[0]="Saab";
$cars[1]="Volvo";
$cars[2]="BMW";
$cars[3]="Toyota";
echo $cars[0] . " and " . $cars[1] . " are Swedish cars.";
?>

The code above will output:

Saab and Volvo are Swedish cars.

Associative Arrays
An associative array, each ID key is associated with a value.

When storing data about specific named values, a numerical array is not always the best way to do it.

With associative arrays we can use the values as keys and assign values to them.

Example 1

In this example we use an array to assign ages to the different persons:

$ages = array("Peter"=>32, "Quagmire"=>30, "Joe"=>34);


Example 2

This example is the same as example 1, but shows a different way of creating the array:

$ages['Peter'] = "32";
$ages['Quagmire'] = "30";
$ages['Joe'] = "34";

The ID keys can be used in a script:

<?php
$ages['Peter'] = "32";
$ages['Quagmire'] = "30";
$ages['Joe'] = "34";

echo "Peter is " . $ages['Peter'] . " years old.";


?>

The code above will output:

Peter is 32 years old.

Multidimensional Arrays
In a multidimensional array, each element in the main array can also be an array. And each element
in the sub-array can be an array, and so on.

Example

In this example we create a multidimensional array, with automatically assigned ID keys:

$families = array
  (
  "Griffin"=>array
  (
  "Peter",
  "Lois",
  "Megan"
  ),
  "Quagmire"=>array
  (
  "Glenn"
  ),
  "Brown"=>array
  (
  "Cleveland",
  "Loretta",
  "Junior"
  )
  );

The array above would look like this if written to the output:

Array
(
[Griffin] => Array
  (
  [0] => Peter
  [1] => Lois
  [2] => Megan
  )
[Quagmire] => Array
  (
  [0] => Glenn
  )
[Brown] => Array
  (
  [0] => Cleveland
  [1] => Loretta
  [2] => Junior
  )
)

Example 2

Lets try displaying a single value from the array above:

echo "Is " . $families['Griffin'][2] .


" a part of the Griffin family?";

The code above will output:

Is Megan a part of the Griffin family?

PHP Looping - While Loops


Loops execute a block of code a specified number of times, or while a specified
condition is true.

PHP Loops
Often when you write code, you want the same block of code to run over and over again in a row.
Instead of adding several almost equal lines in a script we can use loops to perform a task like this.

In PHP, we have the following looping statements:

 while - loops through a block of code while a specified condition is true


 do...while - loops through a block of code once, and then repeats the loop as long as a
specified condition is true
 for - loops through a block of code a specified number of times
 foreach - loops through a block of code for each element in an array

The while Loop


The while loop executes a block of code while a condition is true.

Syntax
while (condition)
  {
  code to be executed;
  }

Example

The example below defines a loop that starts with i=1. The loop will continue to run as long as i is less
than, or equal to 5. i will increase by 1 each time the loop runs:

<html>
<body>

<?php
$i=1;
while($i<=5)
  {
  echo "The number is " . $i . "<br />";
  $i++;
  }
?>

</body>
</html>

Output:

The number is 1
The number is 2
The number is 3
The number is 4
The number is 5

The do...while Statement


The do...while statement will always execute the block of code once, it will then check the condition,
and repeat the loop while the condition is true.

Syntax
do
  {
  code to be executed;
  }
while (condition);

Example

The example below defines a loop that starts with i=1. It will then increment i with 1, and write some
output. Then the condition is checked, and the loop will continue to run as long as i is less than, or
equal to 5:

<html>
<body>

<?php
$i=1;
do
  {
  $i++;
  echo "The number is " . $i . "<br />";
  }
while ($i<=5);
?>

</body>
</html>

Output:
The number is 2
The number is 3
The number is 4
The number is 5
The number is 6

The for loop and the foreach loop will be explained in the next chapter.

PHP Looping - For Loops

Loops execute a block of code a specified number of times, or while a specified


condition is true.

The for Loop


The for loop is used when you know in advance how many times the script should run.

Syntax
for (init; condition; increment)
  {
  code to be executed;
  }

Parameters:

 init: Mostly used to set a counter (but can be any code to be executed once at the beginning
of the loop)
 condition: Evaluated for each loop iteration. If it evaluates to TRUE, the loop continues. If it
evaluates to FALSE, the loop ends.
 increment: Mostly used to increment a counter (but can be any code to be executed at the
end of the loop)

Note: Each of the parameters above can be empty, or have multiple expressions (separated by
commas).

Example

The example below defines a loop that starts with i=1. The loop will continue to run as long as i is less
than, or equal to 5. i will increase by 1 each time the loop runs:

<html>
<body>

<?php
for ($i=1; $i<=5; $i++)
  {
  echo "The number is " . $i . "<br />";
  }
?>

</body>
</html>

Output:

The number is 1
The number is 2
The number is 3
The number is 4
The number is 5

The foreach Loop


The foreach loop is used to loop through arrays.

Syntax
foreach ($array as $value)
  {
  code to be executed;
  }

For every loop iteration, the value of the current array element is assigned to $value (and the array
pointer is moved by one) - so on the next loop iteration, you'll be looking at the next array value.

Example

The following example demonstrates a loop that will print the values of the given array:

<html>
<body>

<?php
$x=array("one","two","three");
foreach ($x as $value)
  {
  echo $value . "<br />";
  }
?>

</body>
</html>

Output:

one
two
three

PHP Functions

The real power of PHP comes from its functions.

In PHP, there are more than 700 built-in functions.

PHP Built-in Functions


For a complete reference and examples of the built-in functions, please visit our PHP Reference.

PHP Functions
In this chapter we will show you how to create your own functions.

To keep the browser from executing a script when the page loads, you can put your script into a
function.

A function will be executed by a call to the function.

You may call a function from anywhere within a page.

Create a PHP Function


A function will be executed by a call to the function.
Syntax
function functionName()
{
code to be executed;
}

PHP function guidelines:

 Give the function a name that reflects what the function does
 The function name can start with a letter or underscore (not a number)

Example

A simple function that writes my name when it is called:

<html>
<body>

<?php
function writeName()
{
echo "Kai Jim Refsnes";
}

echo "My name is ";


writeName();
?>

</body>
</html>

Output:

My name is Kai Jim Refsnes

PHP Functions - Adding parameters


To add more functionality to a function, we can add parameters. A parameter is just like a variable.

Parameters are specified after the function name, inside the parentheses.

Example 1

The following example will write different first names, but equal last name:
<html>
<body>

<?php
function writeName($fname)
{
echo $fname . " Refsnes.<br />";
}

echo "My name is ";


writeName("Kai Jim");
echo "My sister's name is ";
writeName("Hege");
echo "My brother's name is ";
writeName("Stale");
?>

</body>
</html>

Output:

My name is Kai Jim Refsnes.


My sister's name is Hege Refsnes.
My brother's name is Stale Refsnes.

Example 2

The following function has two parameters:

<html>
<body>

<?php
function writeName($fname,$punctuation)
{
echo $fname . " Refsnes" . $punctuation . "<br />";
}

echo "My name is ";


writeName("Kai Jim",".");
echo "My sister's name is ";
writeName("Hege","!");
echo "My brother's name is ";
writeName("Ståle","?");
?>

</body>
</html>
Output:

My name is Kai Jim Refsnes.


My sister's name is Hege Refsnes!
My brother's name is Ståle Refsnes?

PHP Functions - Return values


To let a function return a value, use the return statement.

Example
<html>
<body>

<?php
function add($x,$y)
{
$total=$x+$y;
return $total;
}

echo "1 + 16 = " . add(1,16);


?>

</body>
</html>

Output:

1 + 16 = 17

PHP Forms and User Input

The PHP $_GET and $_POST variables are used to retrieve information from forms, like
user input.
PHP Form Handling
The most important thing to notice when dealing with HTML forms and PHP is that any form element
in an HTML page will automatically be available to your PHP scripts.

Example

The example below contains an HTML form with two input fields and a submit button:

<html>
<body>

<form action="welcome.php" method="post">


Name: <input type="text" name="fname" />
Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>

</body>
</html>

When a user fills out the form above and click on the submit button, the form data is sent to a PHP
file, called "welcome.php":

"welcome.php" looks like this:

<html>
<body>

Welcome <?php echo $_POST["fname"]; ?>!<br />


You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old.

</body>
</html>

Output could be something like this:

Welcome John!
You are 28 years old.

The PHP $_GET and $_POST functions will be explained in the next chapters.

Form Validation
User input should be validated on the browser whenever possible (by client scripts). Browser
validation is faster and reduces the server load.

You should consider server validation if the user input will be inserted into a database. A good way to
validate a form on the server is to post the form to itself, instead of jumping to a different page. The
user will then get the error messages on the same page as the form. This makes it easier to discover
the error.

PHP $_GET Function

The built-in $_GET function is used to collect values in a form with method="get".

The $_GET Function


The built-in $_GET function is used to collect values from a form sent with method="get".

Information sent from a form with the GET method is visible to everyone (it will be displayed in the
browser's address bar) and has limits on the amount of information to send (max. 100 characters).

Example
<form action="welcome.php" method="get">
Name: <input type="text" name="fname" />
Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>

When the user clicks the "Submit" button, the URL sent to the server could look something like this:

http://www.w3schools.com/welcome.php?fname=Peter&age=37

The "welcome.php" file can now use the $_GET function to collect form data (the names of the form
fields will automatically be the keys in the $_GET array):

Welcome <?php echo $_GET["fname"]; ?>.<br />


You are <?php echo $_GET["age"]; ?> years old!

When to use method="get"?


When using method="get" in HTML forms, all variable names and values are displayed in the URL.
Note: This method should not be used when sending passwords or other sensitive information!

However, because the variables are displayed in the URL, it is possible to bookmark the page. This can
be useful in some cases.

Note: The get method is not suitable for large variable values; the value cannot exceed 100
characters.

PHP $_POST Function

The built-in $_POST function is used to collect values in a form with method="post".

The $_POST Function


The built-in $_POST function is used to collect values from a form sent with method="post".

Information sent from a form with the POST method is invisible to others and has no limits on the
amount of information to send.

Note: However, there is an 8 Mb max size for the POST method, by default (can be changed by
setting the post_max_size in the php.ini file).

Example
<form action="welcome.php" method="post">
Name: <input type="text" name="fname" />
Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>

When the user clicks the "Submit" button, the URL will look like this:

http://www.w3schools.com/welcome.php

The "welcome.php" file can now use the $_POST function to collect form data (the names of the form
fields will automatically be the keys in the $_POST array):

Welcome <?php echo $_POST["fname"]; ?>!<br />


You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old.
When to use method="post"?
Information sent from a form with the POST method is invisible to others and has no limits on the
amount of information to send.

However, because the variables are not displayed in the URL, it is not possible to bookmark the page.

The PHP $_REQUEST Function


The PHP built-in $_REQUEST function contains the contents of both $_GET, $_POST, and $_COOKIE.

The $_REQUEST function can be used to collect form data sent with both the GET and POST methods.

Example
Welcome <?php echo $_REQUEST["fname"]; ?>!<br />
You are <?php echo $_REQUEST["age"]; ?> years old.

PHP Date() Function

The PHP date() function is used to format a time and/or date.


The PHP Date() Function
The PHP date() function formats a timestamp to a more readable date and time.

A timestamp is a sequence of characters, denoting the date and/or time at which a certain event
occurred.

Syntax
date(format,timestamp)

Parameter Description

format Required. Specifies the format of the timestamp

timestamp Optional. Specifies a timestamp. Default is the current date and time

PHP Date() - Format the Date


The required format parameter in the date() function specifies how to format the date/time.

Here are some characters that can be used:

 d - Represents the day of the month (01 to 31)


 m - Represents a month (01 to 12)
 Y - Represents a year (in four digits)

A list of all the characters that can be used in the format parameter, can be found in our PHP Date
reference.

Other characters, like"/", ".", or "-" can also be inserted between the letters to add additional
formatting:

<?php
echo date("Y/m/d") . "<br />";
echo date("Y.m.d") . "<br />";
echo date("Y-m-d")
?>

The output of the code above could be something like this:


2009/05/11
2009.05.11
2009-05-11

PHP Date() - Adding a Timestamp


The optional timestamp parameter in the date() function specifies a timestamp. If you do not specify a
timestamp, the current date and time will be used.

The mktime() function returns the Unix timestamp for a date.

The Unix timestamp contains the number of seconds between the Unix Epoch (January 1 1970
00:00:00 GMT) and the time specified.

Syntax for mktime()


mktime(hour,minute,second,month,day,year,is_dst)

To go one day in the future we simply add one to the day argument of mktime():

<?php
$tomorrow = mktime(0,0,0,date("m"),date("d")+1,date("Y"));
echo "Tomorrow is ".date("Y/m/d", $tomorrow);
?>

The output of the code above could be something like this:

Tomorrow is 2009/05/12

PHP Include File

Server Side Includes (SSI)


You can insert the content of one PHP file into another PHP file before the server executes it, with the
include() or require() function.
The two functions are identical in every way, except how they handle errors:

 include() generates a warning, but the script will continue execution


 require() generates a fatal error, and the script will stop

These two functions are used to create functions, headers, footers, or elements that will be reused on
multiple pages.

Server side includes saves a lot of work. This means that you can create a standard header, footer, or
menu file for all your web pages. When the header needs to be updated, you can only update the
include file, or when you add a new page to your site, you can simply change the menu file (instead of
updating the links on all your web pages).

PHP include() Function


The include() function takes all the content in a specified file and includes it in the current file.

If an error occurs, the include() function generates a warning, but the script will continue execution.

Example 1

Assume that you have a standard header file, called "header.php". To include the header file in a
page, use the include() function:

<html>
<body>

<?php include("header.php"); ?>


<h1>Welcome to my home page!</h1>
<p>Some text.</p>

</body>
</html>

Example 2

Assume we have a standard menu file, called "menu.php", that should be used on all pages:

<a href="/default.php">Home</a>
<a href="/tutorials.php">Tutorials</a>
<a href="/references.php">References</a>
<a href="/examples.php">Examples</a>
<a href="/about.php">About Us</a>
<a href="/contact.php">Contact Us</a>

All pages in the Web site should include this menu file. Here is how it can be done:

<html>
<body>

<div class="leftmenu">
<?php include("menu.php"); ?>
</div>

<h1>Welcome to my home page.</h1>


<p>Some text.</p>

</body>
</html>

If you look at the source code of the page above (in a browser), it will look like this:

<html>
<body>

<div class="leftmenu">
<a href="/default.php">Home</a>
<a href="/tutorials.php">Tutorials</a>
<a href="/references.php">References</a>
<a href="/examples.php">Examples</a>
<a href="/about.php">About Us</a>
<a href="/contact.php">Contact Us</a>
</div>

<h1>Welcome to my home page!</h1>


<p>Some text.</p>

</body>
</html>

PHP require() Function


The require() function is identical to include(), except that it handles errors differently.

If an error occurs, the include() function generates a warning, but the script will continue execution.
The require() generates a fatal error, and the script will stop.

Error Example include() Function


<html>
<body>
<?php
include("wrongFile.php");
echo "Hello World!";
?>

</body>
</html>

Error message:

Warning: include(wrongFile.php) [function.include]:


failed to open stream:
No such file or directory in C:\home\website\test.php on line 5

Warning: include() [function.include]:


Failed opening 'wrongFile.php' for inclusion
(include_path='.;C:\php5\pear')
in C:\home\website\test.php on line 5

Hello World!

Notice that the echo statement is executed! This is because a Warning does not stop the script
execution.

Error Example require() Function

Now, let's run the same example with the require() function.

<html>
<body>

<?php
require("wrongFile.php");
echo "Hello World!";
?>
</body>
</html>

Error message:

Warning: require(wrongFile.php) [function.require]:


failed to open stream:
No such file or directory in C:\home\website\test.php on line 5

Fatal error: require() [function.require]:


Failed opening required 'wrongFile.php'
(include_path='.;C:\php5\pear')
in C:\home\website\test.php on line 5

The echo statement is not executed, because the script execution stopped after the fatal error.

It is recommended to use the require() function instead of include(), because scripts should not
continue after an error.

PHP File Handling

The fopen() function is used to open files in PHP.

Opening a File
The fopen() function is used to open files in PHP.

The first parameter of this function contains the name of the file to be opened and the second
parameter specifies in which mode the file should be opened:

<html>
<body>

<?php
$file=fopen("welcome.txt","r");
?>

</body>
</html>

The file may be opened in one of the following modes:

Modes Description

r Read only. Starts at the beginning of the file

r+ Read/Write. Starts at the beginning of the file

w Write only. Opens and clears the contents of file; or creates a new file if it
doesn't exist

w+ Read/Write. Opens and clears the contents of file; or creates a new file if it
doesn't exist

a Append. Opens and writes to the end of the file or creates a new file if it doesn't
exist

a+ Read/Append. Preserves file content by writing to the end of the file

x Write only. Creates a new file. Returns FALSE and an error if file already exists

x+ Read/Write. Creates a new file. Returns FALSE and an error if file already exists

Note: If the fopen() function is unable to open the specified file, it returns 0 (false).

Example

The following example generates a message if the fopen() function is unable to open the specified file:

<html>
<body>

<?php
$file=fopen("welcome.txt","r") or exit("Unable to open file!");
?>

</body>
</html>

Closing a File
The fclose() function is used to close an open file:

<?php
$file = fopen("test.txt","r");

//some code to be executed


fclose($file);
?>

Check End-of-file
The feof() function checks if the "end-of-file" (EOF) has been reached.

The feof() function is useful for looping through data of unknown length.

Note: You cannot read from files opened in w, a, and x mode!

if (feof($file)) echo "End of file";

Reading a File Line by Line


The fgets() function is used to read a single line from a file.

Note: After a call to this function the file pointer has moved to the next line.

Example

The example below reads a file line by line, until the end of file is reached:

<?php
$file = fopen("welcome.txt", "r") or exit("Unable to open file!");
//Output a line of the file until the end is reached
while(!feof($file))
  {
  echo fgets($file). "<br />";
  }
fclose($file);
?>

Reading a File Character by Character


The fgetc() function is used to read a single character from a file.

Note: After a call to this function the file pointer moves to the next character.
Example

The example below reads a file character by character, until the end of file is reached:

<?php
$file=fopen("welcome.txt","r") or exit("Unable to open file!");
while (!feof($file))
  {
  echo fgetc($file);
  }
fclose($file);
?>

PHP File Upload

With PHP, it is possible to upload files to the server.

Create an Upload-File Form


To allow users to upload files from a form can be very useful.

Look at the following HTML form for uploading files:

<html>
<body>

<form action="upload_file.php" method="post"


enctype="multipart/form-data">
<label for="file">Filename:</label>
<input type="file" name="file" id="file" />
<br />
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit" />
</form>
</body>
</html>

Notice the following about the HTML form above:

 The enctype attribute of the <form> tag specifies which content-type to use when submitting
the form. "multipart/form-data" is used when a form requires binary data, like the contents of
a file, to be uploaded
 The type="file" attribute of the <input> tag specifies that the input should be processed as a
file. For example, when viewed in a browser, there will be a browse-button next to the input
field
Note: Allowing users to upload files is a big security risk. Only permit trusted users to perform file
uploads.

Create The Upload Script


The "upload_file.php" file contains the code for uploading a file:

<?php
if ($_FILES["file"]["error"] > 0)
  {
  echo "Error: " . $_FILES["file"]["error"] . "<br />";
  }
else
  {
  echo "Upload: " . $_FILES["file"]["name"] . "<br />";
  echo "Type: " . $_FILES["file"]["type"] . "<br />";
  echo "Size: " . ($_FILES["file"]["size"] / 1024) . " Kb<br />";
  echo "Stored in: " . $_FILES["file"]["tmp_name"];
  }
?>

By using the global PHP $_FILES array you can upload files from a client computer to the remote
server.

The first parameter is the form's input name and the second index can be either "name", "type",
"size", "tmp_name" or "error". Like this:

 $_FILES["file"]["name"] - the name of the uploaded file


 $_FILES["file"]["type"] - the type of the uploaded file
 $_FILES["file"]["size"] - the size in bytes of the uploaded file
 $_FILES["file"]["tmp_name"] - the name of the temporary copy of the file stored on the
server
 $_FILES["file"]["error"] - the error code resulting from the file upload

This is a very simple way of uploading files. For security reasons, you should add restrictions on what
the user is allowed to upload.

Restrictions on Upload
In this script we add some restrictions to the file upload. The user may only upload .gif or .jpeg files
and the file size must be under 20 kb:

<?php
if ((($_FILES["file"]["type"] == "image/gif")
|| ($_FILES["file"]["type"] == "image/jpeg")
|| ($_FILES["file"]["type"] == "image/pjpeg"))
&& ($_FILES["file"]["size"] < 20000))
  {
  if ($_FILES["file"]["error"] > 0)
    {
    echo "Error: " . $_FILES["file"]["error"] . "<br />";
    }
  else
    {
    echo "Upload: " . $_FILES["file"]["name"] . "<br />";
    echo "Type: " . $_FILES["file"]["type"] . "<br />";
    echo "Size: " . ($_FILES["file"]["size"] / 1024) . " Kb<br />";
    echo "Stored in: " . $_FILES["file"]["tmp_name"];
    }
  }
else
  {
  echo "Invalid file";
  }
?>

Note: For IE to recognize jpg files the type must be pjpeg, for FireFox it must be jpeg.

Saving the Uploaded File


The examples above create a temporary copy of the uploaded files in the PHP temp folder on the
server.

The temporary copied files disappears when the script ends. To store the uploaded file we need to
copy it to a different location:

<?php
if ((($_FILES["file"]["type"] == "image/gif")
|| ($_FILES["file"]["type"] == "image/jpeg")
|| ($_FILES["file"]["type"] == "image/pjpeg"))
&& ($_FILES["file"]["size"] < 20000))
  {
  if ($_FILES["file"]["error"] > 0)
    {
    echo "Return Code: " . $_FILES["file"]["error"] . "<br />";
    }
  else
    {
    echo "Upload: " . $_FILES["file"]["name"] . "<br />";
    echo "Type: " . $_FILES["file"]["type"] . "<br />";
    echo "Size: " . ($_FILES["file"]["size"] / 1024) . " Kb<br />";
    echo "Temp file: " . $_FILES["file"]["tmp_name"] . "<br />";

    if (file_exists("upload/" . $_FILES["file"]["name"]))


      {
      echo $_FILES["file"]["name"] . " already exists. ";
      }
    else
      {
      move_uploaded_file($_FILES["file"]["tmp_name"],
      "upload/" . $_FILES["file"]["name"]);
      echo "Stored in: " . "upload/" . $_FILES["file"]["name"];
      }
    }
  }
else
  {
  echo "Invalid file";
  }
?>

The script above checks if the file already exists, if it does not, it copies the file to the specified folder.

Note: This example saves the file to a new folder called "upload"

PHP Cookies

A cookie is often used to identify a user.

What is a Cookie?
A cookie is often used to identify a user. A cookie is a small file that the server embeds on the user's
computer. Each time the same computer requests a page with a browser, it will send the cookie too.
With PHP, you can both create and retrieve cookie values.

How to Create a Cookie?


The setcookie() function is used to set a cookie.

Note: The setcookie() function must appear BEFORE the <html> tag.

Syntax
setcookie(name, value, expire, path, domain);
Example 1

In the example below, we will create a cookie named "user" and assign the value "Alex Porter" to it.
We also specify that the cookie should expire after one hour:

<?php
setcookie("user", "Alex Porter", time()+3600);
?>

<html>
.....

Note: The value of the cookie is automatically URLencoded when sending the cookie, and
automatically decoded when received (to prevent URLencoding, use setrawcookie() instead).

Example 2

You can also set the expiration time of the cookie in another way. It may be easier than using
seconds.

<?php
$expire=time()+60*60*24*30;
setcookie("user", "Alex Porter", $expire);
?>

<html>
.....

In the example above the expiration time is set to a month (60 sec * 60 min * 24 hours * 30 days).

How to Retrieve a Cookie Value?


The PHP $_COOKIE variable is used to retrieve a cookie value.

In the example below, we retrieve the value of the cookie named "user" and display it on a page:

<?php
// Print a cookie
echo $_COOKIE["user"];

// A way to view all cookies


print_r($_COOKIE);
?>
In the following example we use the isset() function to find out if a cookie has been set:

<html>
<body>

<?php
if (isset($_COOKIE["user"]))
  echo "Welcome " . $_COOKIE["user"] . "!<br />";
else
  echo "Welcome guest!<br />";
?>

</body>
</html>

How to Delete a Cookie?


When deleting a cookie you should assure that the expiration date is in the past.

Delete example:

<?php
// set the expiration date to one hour ago
setcookie("user", "", time()-3600);
?>

What if a Browser Does NOT Support Cookies?


If your application deals with browsers that do not support cookies, you will have to use other
methods to pass information from one page to another in your application. One method is to pass the
data through forms (forms and user input are described earlier in this tutorial).

The form below passes the user input to "welcome.php" when the user clicks on the "Submit" button:

<html>
<body>

<form action="welcome.php" method="post">


Name: <input type="text" name="name" />
Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>

</body>
</html>

Retrieve the values in the "welcome.php" file like this:

<html>
<body>

Welcome <?php echo $_POST["name"]; ?>.<br />


You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old.

</body>
</html>

PHP Sessions

A PHP session variable is used to store information about, or change settings for a user
session. Session variables hold information about one single user, and are available to
all pages in one application.

PHP Session Variables


When you are working with an application, you open it, do some changes and then you close it. This is
much like a Session. The computer knows who you are. It knows when you start the application and
when you end. But on the internet there is one problem: the web server does not know who you are
and what you do because the HTTP address doesn't maintain state.

A PHP session solves this problem by allowing you to store user information on the server for later use
(i.e. username, shopping items, etc). However, session information is temporary and will be deleted
after the user has left the website. If you need a permanent storage you may want to store the data
in a database.

Sessions work by creating a unique id (UID) for each visitor and store variables based on this UID.
The UID is either stored in a cookie or is propagated in the URL.

Starting a PHP Session


Before you can store user information in your PHP session, you must first start up the session.

Note: The session_start() function must appear BEFORE the <html> tag:

<?php session_start(); ?>


<html>
<body>

</body>
</html>

The code above will register the user's session with the server, allow you to start saving user
information, and assign a UID for that user's session.

Storing a Session Variable


The correct way to store and retrieve session variables is to use the PHP $_SESSION variable:

<?php
session_start();
// store session data
$_SESSION['views']=1;
?>

<html>
<body>

<?php
//retrieve session data
echo "Pageviews=". $_SESSION['views'];
?>

</body>
</html>

Output:

Pageviews=1

In the example below, we create a simple page-views counter. The isset() function checks if the
"views" variable has already been set. If "views" has been set, we can increment our counter. If
"views" doesn't exist, we create a "views" variable, and set it to 1:

<?php
session_start();

if(isset($_SESSION['views']))
$_SESSION['views']=$_SESSION['views']+1;
else
$_SESSION['views']=1;
echo "Views=". $_SESSION['views'];
?>

Destroying a Session
If you wish to delete some session data, you can use the unset() or the session_destroy() function.

The unset() function is used to free the specified session variable:

<?php
unset($_SESSION['views']);
?>

You can also completely destroy the session by calling the session_destroy() function:

<?php
session_destroy();
?>

Note: session_destroy() will reset your session and you will lose all your stored session data.

PHP MySQL Introduction

MySQL is the most popular open-source database system.


What is MySQL?
MySQL is a database.

The data in MySQL is stored in database objects called tables.

A table is a collections of related data entries and it consists of columns and rows.

Databases are useful when storing information categorically. A company may have a database with
the following tables: "Employees", "Products", "Customers" and "Orders".

Database Tables
A database most often contains one or more tables. Each table is identified by a name (e.g.
"Customers" or "Orders"). Tables contain records (rows) with data.

Below is an example of a table called "Persons":

LastName FirstName Address City

Hansen Ola Timoteivn 10 Sandnes

Svendson Tove Borgvn 23 Sandnes

Pettersen Kari Storgt 20 Stavanger

The table above contains three records (one for each person) and four columns (LastName,
FirstName, Address, and City).

Queries
A query is a question or a request.

With MySQL, we can query a database for specific information and have a recordset returned.

Look at the following query:


SELECT LastName FROM Persons

The query above selects all the data in the "LastName" column from the "Persons" table, and will
return a recordset like this:

LastName

Hansen

Svendson

Pettersen

Download MySQL Database


If you don't have a PHP server with a MySQL Database, you can download MySQL for free here:
http://www.mysql.com/downloads/index.html

Facts About MySQL Database


One great thing about MySQL is that it can be scaled down to support embedded database
applications. Perhaps it is because of this reputation that many people believe that MySQL can only
handle small to medium-sized systems.

The truth is that MySQL is the de-facto standard database for web sites that support huge volumes of
both data and end users (like Friendster, Yahoo, Google).

Look at http://www.mysql.com/customers/ for an overview of companies using MySQL.

PHP MySQL Connect to a Database

The free MySQL database is very often used with PHP.


Create a Connection to a MySQL Database
Before you can access data in a database, you must create a connection to the database.

In PHP, this is done with the mysql_connect() function.

Syntax
mysql_connect(servername,username,password);

Parameter Description

servername Optional. Specifies the server to connect to. Default value is "localhost:3306"

username Optional. Specifies the username to log in with. Default value is the name of the
user that owns the server process

password Optional. Specifies the password to log in with. Default is ""

Note: There are more available parameters, but the ones listed above are the most important.

Example

In the following example we store the connection in a variable ($con) for later use in the script. The
"die" part will be executed if the connection fails:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

// some code
?>

Closing a Connection
The connection will be closed automatically when the script ends. To close the connection before, use
the mysql_close() function:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

// some code

mysql_close($con);
?>

PHP MySQL Create Database and Tables

A database holds one or multiple tables.

Create a Database
The CREATE DATABASE statement is used to create a database in MySQL.

Syntax
CREATE DATABASE database_name

To learn more about SQL, please visit our SQL tutorial.

To get PHP to execute the statement above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is
used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

The following example creates a database called "my_db":

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

if (mysql_query("CREATE DATABASE my_db",$con))


  {
  echo "Database created";
  }
else
  {
  echo "Error creating database: " . mysql_error();
  }

mysql_close($con);
?>

Create a Table
The CREATE TABLE statement is used to create a table in MySQL.

Syntax
CREATE TABLE table_name
(
column_name1 data_type,
column_name2 data_type,
column_name3 data_type,
....
)

To learn more about SQL, please visit our SQL tutorial.

We must add the CREATE TABLE statement to the mysql_query() function to execute the command.

Example

The following example creates a table named "Persons", with three columns. The column names will
be "FirstName", "LastName" and "Age":

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

// Create database
if (mysql_query("CREATE DATABASE my_db",$con))
  {
  echo "Database created";
  }
else
  {
  echo "Error creating database: " . mysql_error();
  }
// Create table
mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);
$sql = "CREATE TABLE Persons
(
FirstName varchar(15),
LastName varchar(15),
Age int
)";

// Execute query
mysql_query($sql,$con);

mysql_close($con);
?>

Important: A database must be selected before a table can be created. The database is selected with
the mysql_select_db() function.

Note: When you create a database field of type varchar, you must specify the maximum length of the
field, e.g. varchar(15).

The data type specifies what type of data the column can hold. For a complete reference of all the
data types available in MySQL, go to our complete Data Types reference.

Primary Keys and Auto Increment Fields


Each table should have a primary key field.

A primary key is used to uniquely identify the rows in a table. Each primary key value must be unique
within the table. Furthermore, the primary key field cannot be null because the database engine
requires a value to locate the record.

The following example sets the personID field as the primary key field. The primary key field is often
an ID number, and is often used with the AUTO_INCREMENT setting. AUTO_INCREMENT automatically
increases the value of the field by 1 each time a new record is added. To ensure that the primary key
field cannot be null, we must add the NOT NULL setting to the field.

Example
$sql = "CREATE TABLE Persons 
(
personID int NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
PRIMARY KEY(personID),
FirstName varchar(15),
LastName varchar(15),
Age int
)";

mysql_query($sql,$con);

PHP MySQL Insert Into

The INSERT INTO statement is used to insert new records in a table.

Insert Data Into a Database Table


The INSERT INTO statement is used to add new records to a database table.

Syntax

It is possible to write the INSERT INTO statement in two forms.

The first form doesn't specify the column names where the data will be inserted, only their values:

INSERT INTO table_name


VALUES (value1, value2, value3,...)

The second form specifies both the column names and the values to be inserted:

INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, column3,...)


VALUES (value1, value2, value3,...)

To learn more about SQL, please visit our SQL tutorial.

To get PHP to execute the statements above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is
used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

In the previous chapter we created a table named "Persons", with three columns; "Firstname",
"Lastname" and "Age". We will use the same table in this example. The following example adds two
new records to the "Persons" table:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);

mysql_query("INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)


VALUES ('Peter', 'Griffin', '35')");

mysql_query("INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)


VALUES ('Glenn', 'Quagmire', '33')");

mysql_close($con);
?>

Insert Data From a Form Into a Database


Now we will create an HTML form that can be used to add new records to the "Persons" table.

Here is the HTML form:

<html>
<body>

<form action="insert.php" method="post">


Firstname: <input type="text" name="firstname" />
Lastname: <input type="text" name="lastname" />
Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>

</body>
</html>

When a user clicks the submit button in the HTML form in the example above, the form data is sent to
"insert.php".

The "insert.php" file connects to a database, and retrieves the values from the form with the PHP
$_POST variables.

Then, the mysql_query() function executes the INSERT INTO statement, and a new record will be
added to the "Persons" table.

Here is the "insert.php" page:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);

$sql="INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)


VALUES
('$_POST[firstname]','$_POST[lastname]','$_POST[age]')";

if (!mysql_query($sql,$con))
  {
  die('Error: ' . mysql_error());
  }
echo "1 record added";

mysql_close($con)

?>

PHP MySQL Select

The SELECT statement is used to select data from a database.

Select Data From a Database Table


The SELECT statement is used to select data from a database.

Syntax
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name

To get PHP to execute the statement above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is
used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

The following example selects all the data stored in the "Persons" table (The * character selects all the
data in the table):

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);

$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Persons");

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
  {
  echo $row['FirstName'] . " " . $row['LastName'];
  echo "<br />";
  }

mysql_close($con);
?>

The example above stores the data returned by the mysql_query() function in the $result variable.

Next, we use the mysql_fetch_array() function to return the first row from the recordset as an array.
Each call to mysql_fetch_array() returns the next row in the recordset. The while loop loops through
all the records in the recordset. To print the value of each row, we use the PHP $row variable
($row['FirstName'] and $row['LastName']).

The output of the code above will be:

Peter Griffin
Glenn Quagmire

Display the Result in an HTML Table


The following example selects the same data as the example above, but will display the data in an
HTML table:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);

$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Persons");

echo "<table border='1'>


<tr>
<th>Firstname</th>
<th>Lastname</th>
</tr>";

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
  {
  echo "<tr>";
  echo "<td>" . $row['FirstName'] . "</td>";
  echo "<td>" . $row['LastName'] . "</td>";
  echo "</tr>";
  }
echo "</table>";

mysql_close($con);
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Firstname Lastname

Glenn Quagmire

Peter Griffin

PHP MySQL The Where Clause

The WHERE clause is used to filter records.

The WHERE clause


The WHERE clause is used to extract only those records that fulfill a specified criterion.

Syntax
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name operator value

To get PHP to execute the statement above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is
used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

The following example selects all rows from the "Persons" table where "FirstName='Peter':

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);

$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Persons


WHERE FirstName='Peter'");

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
  {
  echo $row['FirstName'] . " " . $row['LastName'];
  echo "<br />";
  }
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Peter Griffin

PHP MySQL Order By Keyword

The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the data in a recordset.


The ORDER BY Keyword
The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the data in a recordset.

The ORDER BY keyword sort the records in ascending order by default.

If you want to sort the records in a descending order, you can use the DESC keyword.

Syntax
SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column_name(s) ASC|DESC

Example

The following example selects all the data stored in the "Persons" table, and sorts the result by the
"Age" column:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);

$result = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM Persons ORDER BY age");

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
  {
  echo $row['FirstName'];
  echo " " . $row['LastName'];
  echo " " . $row['Age'];
  echo "<br />";
  }

mysql_close($con);
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Glenn Quagmire 33
Peter Griffin 35
Order by Two Columns
It is also possible to order by more than one column. When ordering by more than one column, the
second column is only used if the values in the first column are equal:

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column1, column2

PHP MySQL Update

The UPDATE statement is used to modify data in a table.

Update Data In a Database


The UPDATE statement is used to update existing records in a table.

Syntax
UPDATE table_name
SET column1=value, column2=value2,...
WHERE some_column=some_value

Note: Notice the WHERE clause in the UPDATE syntax. The WHERE clause specifies which record or
records that should be updated. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records will be updated!

To get PHP to execute the statement above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is
used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

Earlier in the tutorial we created a table named "Persons". Here is how it looks:

FirstName LastName Age

Peter Griffin 35

Glenn Quagmire 33
The following example updates some data in the "Persons" table:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);

mysql_query("UPDATE Persons SET Age = '36'


WHERE FirstName = 'Peter' AND LastName = 'Griffin'");

mysql_close($con);
?>

After the update, the "Persons" table will look like this:

FirstName LastName Age

Peter Griffin 36

Glenn Quagmire 33

PHP MySQL Delete

The DELETE statement is used to delete records in a table.

Delete Data In a Database


The DELETE FROM statement is used to delete records from a database table.
Syntax
DELETE FROM table_name
WHERE some_column = some_value

Note: Notice the WHERE clause in the DELETE syntax. The WHERE clause specifies which record or
records that should be deleted. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records will be deleted!

To get PHP to execute the statement above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is
used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

Look at the following "Persons" table:

FirstName LastName Age

Peter Griffin 35

Glenn Quagmire 33

The following example deletes all the records in the "Persons" table where LastName='Griffin':

<?php
$con = mysql_connect("localhost","peter","abc123");
if (!$con)
  {
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
  }

mysql_select_db("my_db", $con);

mysql_query("DELETE FROM Persons WHERE LastName='Griffin'");

mysql_close($con);
?>

After the deletion, the table will look like this:

FirstName LastName Age

Glenn Quagmire 33

PHP Database ODBC


ODBC is an Application Programming Interface (API) that allows you to connect to a
data source (e.g. an MS Access database).

Create an ODBC Connection


With an ODBC connection, you can connect to any database, on any computer in your network, as
long as an ODBC connection is available.

Here is how to create an ODBC connection to a MS Access Database: 

1. Open the Administrative Tools icon in your Control Panel.


2. Double-click on the Data Sources (ODBC) icon inside.
3. Choose the System DSN tab.
4. Click on Add in the System DSN tab.
5. Select the Microsoft Access Driver. Click Finish.
6. In the next screen, click Select to locate the database.
7. Give the database a Data Source Name (DSN).
8. Click OK.

Note that this configuration has to be done on the computer where your web site is located. If you are
running Internet Information Server (IIS) on your own computer, the instructions above will work, but
if your web site is located on a remote server, you have to have physical access to that server, or ask
your web host to to set up a DSN for you to use.

Connecting to an ODBC
The odbc_connect() function is used to connect to an ODBC data source. The function takes four
parameters: the data source name, username, password, and an optional cursor type.

The odbc_exec() function is used to execute an SQL statement.

Example

The following example creates a connection to a DSN called northwind, with no username and no
password. It then creates an SQL and executes it:

$conn=odbc_connect('northwind','','');
$sql="SELECT * FROM customers";
$rs=odbc_exec($conn,$sql);

Retrieving Records
The odbc_fetch_row() function is used to return records from the result-set. This function returns true
if it is able to return rows, otherwise false.

The function takes two parameters: the ODBC result identifier and an optional row number:

odbc_fetch_row($rs)

Retrieving Fields from a Record


The odbc_result() function is used to read fields from a record. This function takes two parameters:
the ODBC result identifier and a field number or name.

The code line below returns the value of the first field from the record:

$compname=odbc_result($rs,1);

The code line below returns the value of a field called "CompanyName":

$compname=odbc_result($rs,"CompanyName");

Closing an ODBC Connection


The odbc_close() function is used to close an ODBC connection.

odbc_close($conn);

An ODBC Example
The following example shows how to first create a database connection, then a result-set, and then
display the data in an HTML table.

<html>
<body>

<?php
$conn=odbc_connect('northwind','','');
if (!$conn)
  {exit("Connection Failed: " . $conn);}
$sql="SELECT * FROM customers";
$rs=odbc_exec($conn,$sql);
if (!$rs)
  {exit("Error in SQL");}
echo "<table><tr>";
echo "<th>Companyname</th>";
echo "<th>Contactname</th></tr>";
while (odbc_fetch_row($rs))
  {
  $compname=odbc_result($rs,"CompanyName");
  $conname=odbc_result($rs,"ContactName");
  echo "<tr><td>$compname</td>";
  echo "<td>$conname</td></tr>";
  }
odbc_close($conn);
echo "</table>";
?>

</body>
</html>

PHP MySQL Functions

PHP MySQL Introduction


The MySQL functions allows you to access MySQL database servers.

Installation
For the MySQL functions to be available, you must compile PHP with MySQL support.

For compiling, use --with-mysql=DIR (the optional DIR points to the MySQL directory).
Note: For full functionality of MySQL versions greater than 4.1., use the MySQLi extension instead. If
you would like to install both the mysql extension and the mysqli extension you should use the same
client library to avoid any conflicts.

Installation on Linux Systems

PHP 5+: MySQL and the MySQL library is not enabled by default. Use the --with-mysql=DIR configure
option to include MySQL support and download headers and libraries from www.mysql.com.

Installation on Windows Systems

PHP 5+: MySQL is not enabled by default, so the php_mysql.dll must be enabled inside of php.ini.
Also, PHP needs access to the MySQL client library. A file named libmysql.dll is included in the
Windows PHP distribution, and in order for PHP to talk to MySQL this file needs to be available to the
Windows systems PATH.

To enable any PHP extension, the PHP extension_dir setting (in the php.ini file) should be set to the
directory where the PHP extensions are located. An example extension_dir value is c:\php\ext.

Note: If you get the following error when starting the web server: "Unable to load dynamic library
'./php_mysql.dll'", this is because php_mysql.dll or libmysql.dll cannot be found by the system.

Runtime Configuration
The behavior of the MySQL functions is affected by settings in the php.ini file.

MySQL configuration options:

Name Default Description Changeable

mysql.allow_persistent "1" Whether or not to allow persistent PHP_INI_SYSTEM


connections

mysql.max_persistent "-1" The maximum number of persistent PHP_INI_SYSTEM


connections per process

mysql.max_links "-1" The maximum number of connections PHP_INI_SYSTEM


per process (persistent connections
included)

mysql.trace_mode "0" Trace mode. When set to "1", warnings PHP_INI_ALL


and SQL-errors will be displayed.
Available since PHP 4.3

mysql.default_port NULL The default TCP port number to use PHP_INI_ALL

mysql.default_socket NULL The default socket name to use. PHP_INI_ALL


Available since PHP 4.0.1

mysql.default_host NULL The default server host to use (doesn't PHP_INI_ALL


apply in SQL safe mode)

mysql.default_user NULL The default user name to use (doesn't PHP_INI_ALL


apply in SQL safe mode)

mysql.default_passwor NULL The default password to use (doesn't PHP_INI_ALL


d apply in SQL safe mode)

mysql.connect_timeout "60" Connection timeout in seconds PHP_INI_ALL

Resource Types
There are two resource types used in the MySQL extension. The first one is the link_identifier for a
database connection, the second is a resource which holds the result of a query.

Note: Most MySQL functions accept link_identifier as the last optional parameter. If it is not provided,
the last opened connection is used.

PHP MySQL Functions


PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function Description PH
P

mysql_affected_rows() Returns the number of affected rows in the previous 3


MySQL operation

mysql_client_encoding() Returns the name of the character set for the current 4
connection

mysql_close() Closes a non-persistent MySQL connection 3

mysql_connect() Opens a non-persistent MySQL connection 3


mysql_data_seek() Moves the record pointer 3

mysql_db_name() Returns a database name from a call to 3


mysql_list_dbs()

mysql_errno() Returns the error number of the last MySQL operation 3

mysql_error() Returns the error description of the last MySQL 3


operation

mysql_fetch_array() Returns a row from a recordset as an associative array 3


and/or a numeric array

mysql_fetch_assoc() Returns a row from a recordset as an associative array 4

mysql_fetch_field() Returns column info from a recordset as an object 3

mysql_fetch_lengths() Returns the length of the contents of each field in a 3


result row

mysql_fetch_object() Returns a row from a recordset as an object 3

mysql_fetch_row() Returns a row from a recordset as a numeric array 3

mysql_field_flags() Returns the flags associated with a field in a recordset 3

mysql_field_len() Returns the maximum length of a field in a recordset 3

mysql_field_name() Returns the name of a field in a recordset 3

mysql_field_seek() Moves the result pointer to a specified field 3

mysql_field_table() Returns the name of the table the specified field is in 3

mysql_field_type() Returns the type of a field in a recordset 3

mysql_free_result() Free result memory 3

mysql_get_client_info() Returns MySQL client info 4

mysql_get_host_info() Returns MySQL host info 4

mysql_get_proto_info() Returns MySQL protocol info 4

mysql_get_server_info() Returns MySQL server info 4

mysql_info() Returns information about the last query 4


mysql_insert_id() Returns the AUTO_INCREMENT ID generated from the 3
previous INSERT operation

mysql_list_dbs() Lists available databases on a MySQL server 3

mysql_list_processes() Lists MySQL processes 4

mysql_num_fields() Returns the number of fields in a recordset 3

mysql_num_rows() Returns the number of rows in a recordset 3

mysql_pconnect() Opens a persistent MySQL connection 3

mysql_ping() Pings a server connection or reconnects if there is no 4


connection

mysql_query() Executes a query on a MySQL database 3

mysql_real_escape_string( Escapes a string for use in SQL statements 4

mysql_result() Returns the value of a field in a recordset 3

mysql_select_db() Sets the active MySQL database 3

mysql_stat() Returns the current system status of the MySQL server 4

mysql_thread_id() Returns the current thread ID 4

mysql_unbuffered_query() Executes a query on a MySQL database (without 4


fetching / buffering the result)

PHP MySQL Constants


Since PHP 4.3 it has been possible to specify additional flags for the mysql_connect() and
mysql_pconnect() functions:

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the constant.

PH
Constant Description
P

MYSQL_CLIENT_COMPRESS Use compression protocol 4.3


MYSQL_CLIENT_IGNORE_SPACE Allow space after function names 4.3

MYSQL_CLIENT_INTERACTIVE Allow interactive timeout seconds of inactivity 4.3


before closing the connection

MYSQL_CLIENT_SSL Use SSL encryption (only available with version 4.3


4+ of the MySQL client library)

The mysql_fetch_array() function uses a constant for the different types of result arrays. The following
constants are defined:

PH
Constant Description
P

MYSQL_ASSOC Columns are returned into the array with the fieldname as the array  
index

MYSQL_BOTH Columns are returned into the array having both a numerical index  
and the fieldname as the array index

MYSQL_NUM Columns are returned into the array having a numerical index (index  
starts at 0)

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