Scribd
Upload
93 views42 pages

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

The document provides information about PHP, a server-side scripting language. It defines PHP and what PHP files are, discusses what MySQL is and how PHP can be used with MySQL. It also covers why to use PHP, what is needed to use PHP, and includes basic PHP syntax examples.

Uploaded by

nehadhamecha
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
93 views42 pages

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

The document provides information about PHP, a server-side scripting language. It defines PHP and what PHP files are, discusses what MySQL is and how PHP can be used with MySQL. It also covers why to use PHP, what is needed to use PHP, and includes basic PHP syntax examples.

Uploaded by

nehadhamecha
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 42

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

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.

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/

Download Apache Server


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

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 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 contain 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 a character/text within a string.

If a match is found, this function will return the character 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 the example above is 6. The reason that it is 6 (and not 7), is that
the first character position in the string is 0, and not 1.

Complete PHP String Reference


For a complete reference of all string functions, go to our complete PHP String Reference.

The reference contains a brief description, and examples of use, for each function!

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. The code is executed 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?

Complete PHP Array Reference


For a complete reference of all array functions, go to our complete PHP Array Reference.

The reference contains a brief description, and examples of use, for each function!

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 script from being executed when the page loads, you can put it 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.

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 very large variable values. It should not be used with values
exceeding 2000 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

Complete PHP Date Reference


For a complete reference of all date functions, go to our complete PHP Date Reference.

The reference contains a brief description, and examples of use, for each function!

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 Filesystem Reference


For a full reference of the PHP filesystem functions, visit our PHP Filesystem Reference.

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>

You might also like