Learning PHP: Building Dynamic Websites from Core Concepts to Applications

Course details

Explore the world of PHP and build the foundational skills necessary to create interactive, data-driven websites through this extensive course. Joe Casabona, a college-accredited course developer, shows you how to create dynamic web pages using PHP functions and control structures, while also diving into object-oriented programming to build reusable, scalable code. Understand how to process forms securely, handle files for data storage, and effectively manage sessions and cookies. Discover how to debug and troubleshoot code to maintain clean and efficient projects. Ideal for aspiring web developers, students, or professionals looking to enhance their web development toolkit, this course offers practical examples and challenges to solidify your learning. Whether you're crafting a personal blog, managing user data, or creating an e-commerce platform, this course provides the tools to turn your ideas into reality.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Should you learn PHP
02 - What you should know
03 - Developing locally
04 - Using Codespaces

1. The Basics

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

2. Control Structure

14 - Boolean operators and the truth
15 - Logical operators
16 - Creating if else statements
17 - Ternary operators
18 - Switch statements
19 - Match statements
20 - Challenge - Display content based on status
21 - Solution - Display content based on status

3. Math in PHP

22 - Arithmetic operators
23 - Figuring out even or odd with modulus
24 - Incrementing and decrementing variables
25 - Compound assignments
26 - Challenge - Implementing a complicated calculation
27 - Solution - Implementing a complicated calculation

4. Loops

28 - What are loops
29 - Do while loops
30 - For loops
31 - Working through arrays with foreach loops
32 - Challenge - Calculating the Fibonacci sequence
33 - Solution - Calculating the Fibonacci sequence

5. Functions and Objects

34 - What are functions
35 - Using built-in functions
36 - Writing custom functions
37 - Sending variables to functions
38 - More notes about variables and functions
39 - Anonymous functions
40 - What are objects and classes
41 - Creating a simple Person class
42 - Namespacing
43 - Challenge - Create a function that compares two objects
44 - Solution - Create a function that compares two objects

6. Including External Files

45 - Organizing your code
46 - Using include and require
47 - include once and require once
48 - Challenge - Put your class in a separate file and include it
49 - Solution - Put your class in a separate file and include it

7. Troubleshooting Your Code

50 - Common debugging tools in PHP
51 - Types of PHP errors
52 - Why is my page blank
53 - Common parse errors
54 - Common PHP errors
55 - Try catch statements

8. Processing Forms

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

9. Advanced Topics

63 - Reading files in PHP
64 - Writing files
65 - Maintaining state with cookies
66 - Maintaining state with sessions
67 - Challenge - Number guessing game
68 - Solution - Number guessing game

Conclusion

69 - Next steps