PHP, My SQL, Java Script HTML5 all in one for dummies

PHP,

MySQL®

,

Javascript®

& HTML5

ALL-IN-ONE

by Steve Suehring and Janet Valade

PHP,

MySQL®

,

Javascript®

& HTML5

ALL-IN-ONE

PHP, MySQL®, JavaScript® & HTML5 All-in-One For Dummies®

Published by

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

111 River Street

Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

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About the Authors

Steve Suehring is the author of several technology books. Steve has written

web applications, big and small, for a variety of organizations and in a variety

of programming languages. Steve’s expertise is in finding creative solutions

to complex problems and complex solutions to simple problems.

Janet Valade is the author of PHP & MySQL For Dummies, which is in its third

edition. She has also written PHP & MySQL Everyday Apps For Dummies and

PHP & MySQL: Your visual blueprint for creating dynamic, database-driven Web

sites. In addition, Janet is the author of Spring into Linux and a coauthor of

Mastering Visually Dreamweaver CS3 and Flash CS3 Professional.

Janet has 20 years of experience in the computing field. Most recently, she

worked as a Web designer and programmer in an engineering firm for four

years. Prior to that, Janet worked for 13 years in a university environment,

where she was a systems analyst. During her tenure, she supervised the

installation and operation of computing resources, designed and developed

a data archive, supported faculty and students in their computer usage,

wrote numerous technical papers, and developed and presented seminars

on a variety of technology topics.

Dedication

To Bob and Mary.

– Steve Suehring

This book is dedicated to everyone who finds it useful.

– Janet Valade

Authors’ Acknowledgments

From Steve Suehring: For these acknowledgements, I decided to look back

at the acknowledgements section that I wrote more than 10 years ago for my

first book, MySQL Bible. I was curious who, of all of the people I thanked in

that book (and there were a lot), should be thanked in this book, 10+ years

later. The answer: All of them. They (and you, the reader) have contributed

to my ability to continue to write books (and articles, and blog posts, and

everything else.) I look forward to continued success together.

From Janet Valade: First, I wish to express my appreciation to the entire

open source community. Without those who give their time and talent, there

would be no cool PHP and MySQL for me to write about. Furthermore, I never

would have learned this software without the lists where people generously

spend their time answering foolish questions from beginners.

I want to thank my mother for passing on a writing gene, along with many

other things. And my children always for everything.

And, of course, I want to thank the professionals who make it all possible.

Without my agent and the people at Wiley Publishing, Inc., this book would

not exist. Because they all do their jobs so well, I can contribute my part to

this joint project.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com.

For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974,

outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and

Vertical Websites

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(Previous Edition: Jean Nelson)

Acquisitions Editor: Kyle Looper

Copy Editor: Debbye Butler

Technical Editor: Peter Veverka

Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner

Vertical Websites: Richard Graves

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Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

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Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents at a Glance

Introduction ................................................................ 1

Book I: Getting Started with PHP & MySQL................... 5

Chapter 1: Understanding the Languages of the Web...................................................7

Chapter 2: Installing a Web Server ................................................................................21

Chapter 3: Installing PHP ................................................................................................35

Chapter 4: Setting Up MySQL .........................................................................................55

Chapter 5: Setting Up Your Web Development Environment

with the XAMPP Package..............................................................................................75

Book II: HTML and CSS.............................................. 87

Chapter 1: Creating a Basic Page with HTML...............................................................89

Chapter 2: Adding Style with CSS ................................................................................121

Chapter 3: Creating and Styling Web Forms...............................................................169

Book III: JavaScript................................................. 185

Chapter 1: Understanding JavaScript Basics .............................................................187

Chapter 2: Building a JavaScript Program..................................................................191

Chapter 3: Adding jQuery .............................................................................................219

Chapter 4: Reacting to Events with JavaScript and jQuery......................................241

Chapter 5: Troubleshooting JavaScript Programs ....................................................261

Book IV: PHP .......................................................... 269

Chapter 1: Understanding PHP Basics ........................................................................271

Chapter 2: Building PHP Scripts...................................................................................319

Chapter 3: PHP and Your Operating System..............................................................365

Chapter 4: Object-Oriented Programming..................................................................397

Chapter 5: Considering PHP Security..........................................................................425

Chapter 6: Tracking Visitors with Sessions................................................................437

Book V: MySQL ....................................................... 447

Chapter 1: Introducing MySQL.....................................................................................449

Chapter 2: Administering MySQL ................................................................................457

Chapter 3: Designing and Building a Database ..........................................................475

Chapter 4: Using the Database.....................................................................................497

Chapter 5: Communicating with the Database from PHP Scripts............................515

Book VI: Web Applications....................................... 529

Chapter 1: Improving Your PHP Programs.................................................................531

Chapter 2: Creating and Using a Web Service............................................................541

Chapter 3: Validating Web Forms with JavaScript and PHP ....................................555

Chapter 4: Building a Members-Only Website ...........................................................587

Book VII: PHP and Templates................................... 633

Chapter 1: Configuring PHP..........................................................................................635

Chapter 2: Building a Templating System...................................................................641

Index ...................................................................... 655

Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................. 1

About This Book ..............................................................................................1

Foolish Assumptions.......................................................................................1

How This Book Is Organized..........................................................................2

Book I: Getting Started with PHP and MySQL ....................................2

Book II: HTML and CSS..........................................................................2

Book III: JavaScript ................................................................................2

Book IV:PHP............................................................................................2

Book V: MySQL.......................................................................................2

Book VI: Web Applications ...................................................................2

Book VII: PHP and Templates...............................................................2

Companion Website ..............................................................................3

Icons Used in This Book .................................................................................3

Where to Go from Here...................................................................................3

Book I: Getting Started with PHP & MySQL ................... 5

Chapter 1: Understanding the Languages of the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Understanding How the Web Works.............................................................7

The web browser ...................................................................................8

The web server.......................................................................................8

Understanding Web Page Languages..........................................................10

Marking up with HTML........................................................................10

Styling pages with CSS.........................................................................11

Changing behaviors with JavaScript.................................................11

Understanding the Language of Web Servers............................................12

Building dynamic web applications with PHP and MySQL.............12

Sending the page to the browser with Apache ................................13

Choosing How You Want to Develop..........................................................14

Choosing a host for your website......................................................14

Hosting for a company website..........................................................15

Choosing a web-hosting company.....................................................16

Using a hosted website .......................................................................18

Setting Up Your Local Computer for Development...................................19

Installing the web server.....................................................................19

Installing PHP .......................................................................................20

Installing MySQL ..................................................................................20

xii PHP, MySQL, JavaScript & HTML5 All-in-One For Dummies

Chapter 2: Installing a Web Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Testing Your Web Server..............................................................................21

Obtaining Apache ..........................................................................................22

Selecting a version of Apache ............................................................22

Downloading from the Apache website ............................................23

Obtaining Apache for Windows .........................................................23

Obtaining Apache for Linux................................................................23

Obtaining Apache for Mac ..................................................................24

Obtaining all-in-one installation kits..................................................24

Verifying a downloaded file ................................................................24

Installing Apache ...........................................................................................25

Installing Apache on Windows...........................................................25

Installing Apache on a Mac.................................................................27

Installing Apache from source code on Linux and Mac..................27

Starting and Stopping Apache .....................................................................28

Starting and stopping Apache on Windows .....................................28

Starting Apache on Linux, Unix, and Mac.........................................29

Restarting Apache on Linux, Unix, and Mac.....................................30

Stopping Apache on Linux, Unix, and Mac .......................................30

Getting Information from Apache................................................................31

Getting Apache information on Windows.........................................31

Getting Apache information on Linux, Unix, and Mac ....................31

Configuring Apache.......................................................................................32

Changing settings.................................................................................32

Changing the location of your Document Root................................33

Changing the port number .................................................................33

Chapter 3: Installing PHP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Checking the PHP Installation......................................................................36

Obtaining PHP................................................................................................36

Downloading from the PHP website..................................................37

Obtaining PHP for Windows ...............................................................37

Obtaining PHP for Linux......................................................................37

Obtaining PHP for the Mac OS ...........................................................38

Obtaining all-in-one installation kits..................................................38

Verifying a downloaded file ................................................................39

Installing PHP.................................................................................................40

Installing on Unix and Linux ...............................................................40

Installing on Mac OS X.........................................................................42

Installation options for Unix, Linux, and Mac ..................................44

Installing on Windows .........................................................................46

Configuring Your Web Server for PHP........................................................47

Configuring your web server on Windows .......................................47

Configuring Apache on Linux and Mac .............................................49

Configuring PHP.............................................................................................50

Table of Contents xiii

Testing PHP....................................................................................................51

Troubleshooting ............................................................................................53

Unable to change PHP settings ..........................................................53

Displays error message: Undefined function ...................................53

Displays a blank page or HTML output only....................................53

Chapter 4: Setting Up MySQL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Checking the MySQL Installation.................................................................55

Finding out if MySQL is running or installed....................................56

Starting MySQL.....................................................................................56

Obtaining MySQL...........................................................................................57

Downloading from the MySQL website.............................................58

Obtaining MySQL for Windows..........................................................58

Obtaining MySQL for Linux and Unix................................................58

Obtaining MySQL for Mac...................................................................59

Obtaining all-in-one installation kits..................................................59

Verifying a downloaded file ................................................................59

Installing MySQL............................................................................................59

Running the MySQL Setup Wizard on Windows ..............................60

Installing MySQL on Linux from an RPM file ....................................61

Installing MySQL on Mac from a DMG file ........................................62

Installing MySQL from source files....................................................63

Configuring MySQL........................................................................................65

Starting and Stopping the MySQL Server ...................................................66

Controlling the server on Windows...................................................66

Controlling the MySQL server on Linux and Mac............................67

Testing MySQL...............................................................................................68

Troubleshooting MySQL...............................................................................69

Displays error message: Access denied............................................69

Displays error message: Client does not support

authentication protocol ..................................................................69

Displays error message: Can’t connect to . . ...................................70

MySQL error log...................................................................................70

The MySQL Administration Program..........................................................70

Activating MySQL Support...........................................................................71

Activating MySQL support on Windows...........................................71

Activating MySQL support on Linux and the Mac OS .....................71

Checking MySQL support ...................................................................72

Troubleshooting PHP and MySQL...............................................................73

Displays error message: Undefined function ...................................73

MySQL functions not activated (Windows)......................................74

Chapter 5: Setting Up Your Web Development Environment

with the XAMPP Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Obtaining XAMPP ..........................................................................................75

Installing XAMPP ...........................................................................................76