Contents

Contents

1 Getting started 7

Introducing PHP & MySQL 8

Understanding The Cloud 9
Installing Abyss Web Server 10
Installing the PHP engine 12
Configuring Abyss for PHP 14
Embedding PHP script 16
Installing the MySQL Server 18
Using the MySQL Client 20
Creating MySQL users 21
Connecting PHP & MySQL 22
Summary 24

2 Performing operations 25

Creating variables 26
Managing strings 28
Producing arrays 30
Sorting arrays 32
Describing dimensions 34
Doing arithmetic 36
Comparing values 38
Assessing logic 40
Defining constants 42
Summary 44

3 Controlling progress 45

Branching alternatives 46
Switching branches 48
Performing loops 50
Looping while true 52
Breaking from loops 54
Creating functions 56
Passing arguments 58
Returning values 60
Summary 62
4 Producing forms 63
Performing actions 64
Checking set values 66
Validating form data 68
Sending hidden data 70
Handling submissions 72
Making sticky forms 74
Surrounding forms 76
Appending link data 78
Moving location 80
Summary 82

5 Assembling tables 83
Introducing tables 84
Creating tables 86
Defining data types 88
Adding modifiers 90
Setting primary keys 92
Altering tables 94
Summary 96

6 Handling data 97
Inserting data 98
Updating columns 100
Updating fields 102
Deleting data 104
Selecting data 106
Retrieving columns 108
Retrieving rows 110
Sorting data 112
Setting direction 114
Making comparisons 116
Summary 118

7 Connecting databases 119

Making connection 120
Executing queries 122
Retrieving results 124
Applying changes 126
Counting records 128
Updating records 130
Validating results 132
Ensuring security 134
Handling errors 136
Summary 138
8 Registering users 139
Creating a users database 140
Providing a register page 142
Processing registrations 146
Providing a login page 148
Supplying login tools 150
Processing login attempts 152
Confirming login success 154
Summary 156

9 Providing forums 157

Creating a forum database 158
Providing a forum page 160
Supplying a message form 162
Processing posted messages 164
Confirming post success 166
Summary 168

10 Processing shops 169

Creating a shop database 170
Creating an orders database 172
Providing a shop page 174
Confirming cart additions 176
Processing shopping carts 178
Checking out orders 182
Confirming logout success 184
Summary 186

Index 187
Preface
The creation of this book has provided me, Mike McGrath, a welcome opportunity to
demonstrate the latest server-side scripting techniques with PHP and MySQL databases. All
examples I have given in this book demonstrate modern features of the PHP scripting language
using the current MySQL Relational Database Management System that is supported on both
Windows and Linux operating systems. I sincerely hope you enjoy discovering the exciting
possibilities of PHP and MySQL, and have as much fun with it as I did in writing this book.
In order to clarify the code listed in the steps given in each example, I have adopted certain
colorization conventions. Components of the PHP language are colored blue; programmer-
specified names are red; numeric and string data values are black; and comments are green:
<?php
# Write the traditional greeting.
$string = ‘<p>Hello World!</p>’ ;
echo $string ;
?>

Similarly, components of the SQL query language are colored blue; programmer-specified
names are red; numeric and string data values are black; and comments are green:
# Insert 5 records into the "top_5_films" table.
INSERT INTO top_5_films ( position , title , year ) VALUES ( 1 , "Citizen Kane" , 1941 ) ;

Additionally, in order to identify each source code file described in the steps, a colored icon and
file name appears in the margin alongside the steps:

SQL

script.php query.sql index.html style.css

For convenience I have placed source code files from the examples featured in this book into a
single ZIP archive. You can obtain the complete archive by following these easy steps:

l 1 Browse to http://www.ineasysteps.com then navigate to Free Resources and choose

the Downloads section

l 2 Find PHP & MySQL in easy steps, 2nd edition in the list, then click on the hyperlink
entitled All Code Examples to download the archive

l 3 Now, extract the archive contents to any convenient location on your computer
 1 Getting started
8 Introducing PHP & MySQL
Welcome to the exciting
9 Understanding The Cloud
world of the data-driven
10 Installing Abyss Web Server
web with PHP & MySQL.
12 Installing the PHP engine
This chapter demonstrates
14 Configuring Abyss for PHP
how to create a dynamic
16 Embedding PHP script
development environment
18 Installing the MySQL Server
incorporating the Abyss Web
20 Using the MySQL Client
Server, the PHP engine, and
21 Creating MySQL users
the MySQL database server.
22 Connecting PHP & MySQL
24 Summary
Getting started

Introducing PHP & MySQL

The most appealing modern websites provide a customized user
experience by dynamically responding to some current conditions
– user name, time of day, latest blog, shopping cart contents, etc.
Many of these dynamic websites are created with PHP and MySQL.

What is PHP?
PHP is a widely-used general purpose scripting language that is
especially suited for web development, and can be embedded into
HTML. It was created by programmer Rasmus Lerdorf as a set of
scripts to maintain his website that he released as “Personal Home
Page Tools (PHP Tools) version 1.0” on June 8, 1995. These were
extended in the version 2 release of 1997, and the name changed
to become a recursive acronym “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor”
in version 3 the following year. Performance, reliability, and
extensibility were improved in 2000 with the release of PHP4,
which was powered by the new Zend engine – a virtual machine.
The current version, PHP5, is powered by the Zend II engine
and produced as free software by the PHP group. Today, PHP is
installed on over 20 million websites and 1 million web servers.

What is MySQL?
8

MySQL is the world’s most popular database software. It is used

to manage stored data and is described as DataBase Management
Software (DBMS) or Relational DataBase Management Software
(RDBMS). MySQL was created by Michael Wildenius and David
Axmark back in 1995. Its name (“My-S-Q-L” officially, but often
pronounced “My Sequel”) is a combination of Michael’s daughter’s
name “My” and the term “SQL” (Structured Query Language).
MySQL was originally produced by the company MySQL AB,
founded by its creators, which was acquired by Sun Microsystems
in 2008, and subsequently by Oracle in 2010. The current version,
MySQL 8.0, is powered by the InnoDB storage engine, and the
MySQL Community Server edition is available as free software.
Today, MySQL is used on some of the most frequently visited
websites, including Google, Wikipedia, Facebook and Twitter.
It is important to recognize that PHP and MySQL are both
“server-side” technologies – that is to say they reside on the web
server. They are not “client-side” technologies resident on the user’s
computer. So their magic takes place in “The Cloud”.
Understanding The Cloud
Whenever a user asks to view a web page in their browser it
requests the page from the web server, and receives the page in
response, via the HTTP protocol. Where a web page contains
PHP script, the web server may first call upon the PHP engine
to process the code and, if required, request data from a MySQL
database before sending the response to the browser.

Web Browser
HTTP (HyperText Transfer
Protocol) is the common
User Interface communication standard
that allows any computer
connected to any web
HTTP Response server to access files
HTTP Request across the web.

Connection to Domain

9
Web Server

HTML Response
PHP Request

PHP Engine Query

Data MySQL
Server
The examples in this
book are created and
tested with the listed
The ensuing pages describe how to create a development
software versions but
environment for data-driven websites by installing the following may require modification
server-side technologies on your own computer: for other versions.

• Web Server – Abyss Web Server X1 Free Personal Edition

• PHP Engine – PHP 7.2.4

• MySQL Server – MySQL Community Server 8.0.11

Getting started

Installing Abyss Web Server

Abyss X1 is a free compact web server available for Windows,
macOS/Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems available for
download at aprelium.com. Despite its small footprint, Abyss
supports many powerful features, including dynamic content
generation with server-side scripts – so is an ideal companion for
PHP & MySQL.
The Abyss Web Server can be installed on your own computer to
provide an environment for PHP & MySQL website development.

l 1 Download the Abyss X1 Web Server setup package for

your system from aprelium.com/abyssws/download.php

Further guidance on
installation of the Abyss
Web Server is available
at aprelium.com/
abyssws/start.html
10

l 2 Run the setup installer and accept the License terms, then
choose to install with the recommended options

The Abyss setup package

for Windows is an
executable file named
abwsx1.exe that you run
to install the web server.
…cont’d

l3 Accept the suggested location of C:\Abyss Web Server,

then choose to install Abyss as a Windows Service

If you choose the

Manual startup option,
the Abyss logo will not
appear in your system
tray for easy start/stop
control and access to the

l4 Next, select your preferred language, then enter a name

and password for future access to the Abyss server console
server console. Instead,
the console can be
found with your browser

l
at http://localhost:9999.
5 Now, log in using your chosen name and password to see
the Abyss console confirm the server status as Running

11
l6 Finally, enter http://localhost into your browser address
field, then hit Return to see the default Abyss Welcome
page get served up by the Abyss Web Server

In the Abyss console,

click the Configure
button then the General
icon to see the default
HTTP Port is 80 and the
default Documents Path
(where your web pages
will reside) is / htdocs.
Getting started

Installing the PHP engine

The PHP interpreter “engine”, which implements PHP scripts
within web pages, is available for Windows, macOS/Mac OS X,
and Linux operating systems as a free download at php.net
Additionally, a pre-configured package for the Abyss Web Server
on Windows is available from aprelium.com and is recommended
for a simple, fast installation.

Further guidance on
installation of PHP is
l 1 Download the PHP setup package for your system from
aprelium.com/downloads

available at php.net/
manual/en/install.php l 2 Run the downloaded executable file to launch the Setup
Wizard, then click on the Next button to begin
12

If installing PHP for

Abyss on Windows from
php.net, be sure to
l 3 Next, accept the License terms, then click on the Next
button to proceed with the installation
choose the VC6 Thread
Safe version – as it
requires fewer Windows
dependencies.
…cont’d

l4 Accept the suggested location of C:\Program Files\PHP7,

then click the Install button to continue

The PHP installation

location will be required
when configuring the
Abyss Web Server for
PHP – make a note of
the Destination Folder.

13
l5 Finally, after the installation completes, click on the
Finish button to close the Setup Wizard

Following installation
of PHP, the web server
cannot yet execute
PHP scripts until it is
configured to recognize
them and to find the
PHP interpreter engine –
all as described on
pages 14-15.
Getting started

Configuring Abyss for PHP

The Abyss Web Server must be configured to recognize PHP
scripts and employ the PHP interpreter when it encounters them.
This is achieved in the Abyss server console by associating the
file extension “.php” as being PHP scripts, and by specifying the
location of the PHP engine on your system to interpret them.

l 1 Enter http://localhost:9999 into your browser address field

(or click on the Abyss logo in your system tray) to launch
the Abyss server console, then click the Configure button
to open its Configuration page

Further guidance on
configuration of the
Abyss Web Server is
available online at
aprelium.com/abyssws/
l 2 Next, click on the Scripting Parameters icon to open
the Scripting Parameters page for editing

l
start.html
14

3 Ensure that the Enable Scripts Execution box is

checked, then click the Add button in the Interpreters
table to open the Interpreters-Add page

l 4 Now, set the Interface to “FastCGI”, the Interpreter to

the location of the PHP interpreter (php-cgi.exe) on your
system, and Add the file Extension “php” then click OK

The localhost domain

name is an alias for the
IP address 127.0.0.1 – so
the Abyss Web Server
console can alternatively
be addressed as
http://127.0.0.1:9999.
…cont’d

l 5 Click OK in the Console window, then click the Restart

button to apply the changes to the Abyss configuration

PHP scripts are case-

sensitive so you must
The Abyss Web Server should now be running on your system, copy the listed script
correctly configured to recognize that documents having the using lowercase
.php file extension should be interpreted by the PHP engine. characters only.
Configuration can now be tested by creating a simple PHP script
for service to your web browser by Abyss.

l 6 Open a plain text editor and exactly type the script below
<?php phpinfo() ?>

l 7 Save the script as phpinfo.php in the Abyss document

path directory, typically at C:\Abyss Web Server\htdocs
phpinfo.php

l 8 Exactly enter the location http://localhost/phpinfo.php into

15
your web browser’s address field to see Abyss serve up a
web page containing your PHP version information

Documents can only be

interpreted by the PHP
engine if served up by
the web server using
the HTTP protocol. You
cannot simply open a
PHP file in your browser
directly. Always use the
location http://localhost/.
Getting started

Embedding PHP script

PHP script may be embedded within HTML documents –
meaning PHP and HTML code can both happily co-exist in
the same file. All embedded PHP code must be contained within
<?php and ?> tags so it can be readily recognized by the PHP
engine for interpretation. Typically, the PHP code will write
content into the body section of the HTML document, which is
then sent to the web browser.

l 1 Launch a plain text editor and create this valid barebones

HTML5 document with an empty body section
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html lang=“en”>
hello.php <head><meta charset=”UTF-8”>
<title>Getting Started With PHP</title>
</head>
<body>

</body>
</html>

l 2 Insert tags into the body section to contain PHP code

16

<?php

?>

l 3 Now, insert between the PHP tags a descriptive comment

and a line of code to write content into the body section
# Write the traditional greeting.
echo ‘<h1>Hello World!</h1>’ ;

All whitespace and PHP

comments are ignored
by the interpreter.
Single-line comments
may begin with # or //
and multi-line comments
contained between /*
and */ – as with the C
programming language.
…cont’d

l 4 Set the document

encoding to UTF-8
format then save it as
hello.php in the Abyss
server’s /htdocs folder
Windows’ Notepad

l 5 Next, enter the location http://localhost/hello.php into your

web browser’s address field to see Abyss serve up a web
page containing content written by embedded PHP code
automatically adds a
hidden “Byte Order
Mark” (BOM) to the
file, while other editors
(such as Notepad++
shown here) allow
this to be omitted.
Notepad++ can be
freely downloaded from
notepad-plus-plus.org

17
l 6 Now, use your web browser’s View Source facility to see
that PHP has written the content into the body section,
including the HTML <h1></h1> heading tags

The PHP echo instruction

statement literally writes
the entire content
contained within the
pair of ‘ single quote
marks. Like all other PHP
statements it must be
terminated by a ; semi-
colon character.

PHP script can be embedded in earlier versions of HTML in

just the same way. Other examples in this book demonstrate
embedded PHP script but do not repeatedly list the HTML code.
Getting started

Installing the MySQL Server

The MySQL database server, which provides “back-end” storage for
data-driven websites, is available for Windows, macOS/Mac OS X,
and Linux operating systems as a free download at mysql.com

l 1 Download the MySQL Community Edition Server installer

for your system from mysql.com/downloads/mysql

Further guidance on
installation of the MySQL

l
Server is available at
http://dev.mysql.com/ 2 Run the installer and accept the License terms, then
doc/refman/8.0/en/ select “Server only” and click Next to continue
installing.html
18

The MySQL Installer can

l 3 Click the Execute button to install the MySQL server

be launched at any time

from the Windows Start
menu – to change the
configuration or to install
updates.
…cont’d

l4 Next, choose the “Standalone MySQL Server” option,

then click Next to continue

l5 Select “Development Computer” as the server

configuration type, then click Next to continue By default, the MySQL
Server uses port 3306.
If you are running a
firewall you may need
to specifically allow
the MySQL Server
connections via this port.
Refer to your firewall
documentation for
further guidance.

l6 Select “Use Strong Password Encryption for

Authentication”, then click Next to continue

19
7 Enter a root user password of your choice twice into the
Password fields, then click Next to continue
Write down your chosen
root user password,
username, and user
password – you will
need them often.

l8 Click Next to run as a Windows Service, and Next to

ignore Plugins, then click the Execute button to install
the MySQL Server with your selected configuration

Ensure that your MySQL

Server Configuration
completes successfully
before continuing. If
necessary, repeat the
installation process.
Getting started

Using the MySQL Client

After installation of the MySQL Server as a Windows service,
described on pages 18-19, you can communicate with databases
via the MySQL Command Line Client that gets installed with
the server package. Upon its launch it will first request the root
user password you chose during installation. Once the password
The MySQL Command has been verified, the MySQL Command Line Client then
Line Client can also be
presents a mysql> command prompt from which you can create
launched from a regular
Command prompt by
and manipulate databases.
issuing the command
mysql -u root -p where
mysql is added to your
system Path, or from
l 1 Launch the MySQL Command Line Client from the
MySQL group that has been added to the Start menu,
then enter the root password you chose during installation
within its /bin directory.
20

l 2 At the mysql> command prompt, precisely issue this

command to create a new database named “site_db”
CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS site_db ;
All MySQL commands

l
end with a ; semi-colon.
3 Now, precisely issue a further command to display all
databases that now exist on your MySQL Server
SHOW DATABASES ;

Installation creates
some default databases,
such as “sys”, but your
“site_db” database is the
one that will be used
throughout this book.
Creating MySQL users
While the MySQL root user is allowed complete control over
the databases on the MySQL Server, it is obviously inadvisable to
allow other users such freedom for best security of the databases.
The root user can therefore create users with specific “privileges”
controlling what actions they may perform on the MySQL Server.
MySQL is case-sensitive
The root user can create a user in the MySQL Command Line and requires precise
Client by issuing a clause to identify a unique user, like this: syntax – you must be
sure to use correct
CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS ‘username’@’hostname’ spacing and letter case
IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY ‘password’ ; as it appears listed. For
example, do not leave
The root user can then issue a clause to specify privileges allowed
spaces around the @
for a particular database to a particular user, like this: character that defines
the user name and host.
GRANT privileges ON database.* TO ‘username’@‘hostname’ ;

The privileges are specified as a comma-separated list of keywords

which that user may use when accessing the specified database.
For instance, basic privileges to SELECT, INSERT, and UPDATE.

l 1 Log into the MySQL Command Line Client as the root

21
user, then precisely issue this clause to create a user
CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS ‘mike’@’locahost’
IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY ‘easysteps’ ;

l
MySQL 8 introduces
2 Next, allow privileges to access the “site_db” database caching_sha2_password
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE ON site_db.* authentication, but the
TO ‘mike’@‘localhost’ ; mysql_native_password

l
earlier authentication can
3 Now, issue a clause to confirm this user’s privileges still be used to specify
SHOW GRANTS FOR ‘mike’@’localhost’ ; unencrypted passwords.
Getting started

Connecting PHP & MySQL

Connection to a MySQL database can be attempted in PHP
with a standard piece of script that describes four connection
parameters of Host, Username, Password, and Database
name. Upon failure, the script provides a descriptive message,
whereas on success it specifies the character set to be used
when sending data to and from the database server:
$dbc = mysqli_connect ( ‘host’, ‘user’, ‘password’, ‘database’ )
OR die ( mysqli_connect_error() ) ;
mysqli_set_charset( $dbc, ‘charset’ ) ;

You need not understand in detail how the script works at this
stage, but recognize that it contains sensitive information. For
this reason it should not be placed in the web server’s /htdocs
directory like all other PHP scripts, where its contents may be
accessible, but placed instead safely in /htdocs parent directory
– for example, in the “C:/Abyss Web Server” directory rather
than in the “C:/Abyss Web Server/htdocs” directory.
Any PHP script can incorporate another PHP script by
using a “require” statement to specify the other script’s path.
22

This feature can be used to good effect to incorporate the

connection script without revealing its sensitive information.

l 1 Launch a plain text editor and create a connection script

describing the parameters from the previous pages
<?php

connect_db.php # Connect on ‘localhost’ for user ‘mike’

# with password ‘easysteps’ to database ‘site_db’.
$dbc = mysqli_connect
( ‘localhost’ , ‘mike’ , ‘easysteps’ , ‘site_db’ )
OR die
( mysqli_connect_error() ) ;

# Set encoding to match PHP script encoding.

mysqli_set_charset( $dbc , ‘utf8’ ) ;

l 2 Save the file in the parent directory of your web server’s

/htdocs directory folder as connect_db.php
…cont’d

l 3 Now, begin a second script that incorporates the

connection script, stating its path in the parent directory
<?php
# Incorporate the MySQL connection script.
require ( ‘../connect_db.php’ ) ; require.php

l 4 Next, complete this script by adding instructions to

display connection information if the attempt has
succeeded
# Display MySQL version and host.
if( mysqli_ping( $dbc ) )
{ echo ‘MySQL Server ‘ . mysqli_get_server_info( $dbc ).
’connected on ‘ . mysqli_get_host_info( $dbc ) ; }

l 5 Save the script in your web server’s /htdocs directory as

require.php, then open it in your browser (via HTTP) to
see the connection details on successful connection

23
l 6 Temporarily edit connect_db.php by changing the
database name to one that does not exist, then save the
file and reload the page in your browser to see the error

You do not need to

understand how these
scripts work just now –
they merely ensure you
can connect to MySQL
with PHP. But you can
usefully refer back to

l
them later to see how
7 Finally, correct the connect_db.php script by changing your knowledge of PHP
has progressed.
the database name back to site_db, then save the file and
reload the page to see the connection succeed once more

Congratulations, you have now successfully configured the Abyss

Web Server, PHP engine, and MySQL Server for development.
Getting started

Summary
• PHP is a scripting language that is especially suited for web
development, as it can be embedded in HTML.

• MySQL is Relational DataBase Management Software

(RDBMS) that can provide back-end data storage for websites.

• PHP and MySQL are both server-side technologies that

deliver data-driven websites to the browser from The Cloud.

• Aa Web
local development environment can be created by installing
Server, the PHP engine, and the MySQL Server.

• The Web Server must be configured to recognize scripts so it

will direct them to the PHP engine for interpretation.

• All tags
?>
embedded PHP code must be contained within <?php
so it can be readily recognized by the PHP engine.
and

• Documents containing PHP script can best be encoded using

the popular UTF-8 character format.

• The MySQL Server can be installed on Windows systems as a

background service so it is always readily available.
24

• The MySQL Command Line Client gets installed with the

Server package and can create and manipulate databases.

• The root user password chosen during installation of MySQL

can be used to launch the MySQL Command Line Client.

• Connection to a MySQL database can be attempted in PHP

with a standard piece of script that describes connection
parameters of Host, Username, Password, and Database name.

• Any PHP script can incorporate another PHP script by using

a require statement stating the other script’s path.