PHP 5 Tutorial: Easy Learning With "Show PHP"

PHP 5 Tutorial
❮ HomeNext ❯
PHP is a server scripting language, and a powerful tool for making dynamic
and interactive Web pages.
PHP is a widely-used, free, and efficient alternative to competitors such as

Microsoft's ASP.
Easy Learning with "Show PHP"

Our "Show PHP" tool makes it easy to learn PHP, it shows both the PHP source
code and the HTML output of the code.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
echo "My first PHP script!";
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
PHP 5 Introduction
❮ PreviousNext ❯
PHP scripts are executed on the server.
What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:
 HTML
 CSS
 JavaScript
If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on ourHome page.
What is PHP?
 PHP is an acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor"
 PHP is a widely-used, open source scripting language
 PHP scripts are executed on the server
 PHP is free to download and use
PHP is an amazing and popular language!
It is powerful enough to be at the core of the biggest blogging system on the

web (WordPress)!
It is deep enough to run the largest social network (Facebook)!
It is also easy enough to be a beginner's first server side language!
What is a PHP File?

 PHP files can contain text, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP code
 PHP code are executed on the server, and the result is returned to the
browser as plain HTML
 PHP files have extension ".php"
What Can PHP Do?

 PHP can generate dynamic page content
 PHP can create, open, read, write, delete, and close files on the server
 PHP can collect form data
 PHP can send and receive cookies
 PHP can add, delete, modify data in your database
 PHP can be used to control user-access
 PHP can encrypt data
With PHP you are not limited to output HTML. You can output images, PDF files,
and even Flash movies. You can also output any text, such as XHTML and XML.
Why PHP?
 PHP runs on various platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.)
 PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
 PHP supports a wide range of databases
 PHP is free. Download it from the official PHP resource: www.php.net
 PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side
PHP 5 Installation
What Do I Need?
To start using PHP, you can:
 Find a web host with PHP and MySQL support

 Install a web server on your own PC, and then install PHP and MySQL
Use a Web Host With PHP Support

If your server has activated support for PHP you do not need to do anything.
Just create some .php files, place them in your web directory, and the server
will automatically parse them for you.
You do not need to compile anything or install any extra tools.
Because PHP is free, most web hosts offer PHP support.
Set Up PHP on Your Own PC

However, if your server does not support PHP, you must:
 install a web server

 install PHP
 install a database, such as MySQL
The official PHP website (PHP.net) has installation instructions for

PHP: http://php.net/manual/en/install.php
PHP 5 Syntax
A PHP script is executed on the server, and the plain HTML result is sent
back to the browser.
Basic PHP Syntax

A PHP script can be placed anywhere in the document.
A PHP script starts with <?php and ends with ?>:
<?php
// PHP code goes here
?>
The default file extension for PHP files is ".php".
A PHP file normally contains HTML tags, and some PHP scripting code.
Below, we have an example of a simple PHP file, with a PHP script that uses a
built-in PHP function "echo" to output the text "Hello World!" on a web page:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h1>My first PHP page</h1>
<?php
echo "Hello World!";
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Note: PHP statements end with a semicolon (;).
Comments in PHP
A comment in PHP code is a line that is not read/executed as part of the
program. Its only purpose is to be read by someone who is looking at the code.
Comments can be used to:
 Let others understand what you are doing

 Remind yourself of what you did - Most programmers have experienced
coming back to their own work a year or two later and having to re-figure
out what they did. Comments can remind you of what you were thinking
when you wrote the code
PHP supports several ways of commenting:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
// This is a single-line comment
# This is also a single-line comment
/*
This is a multiple-lines comment block
that spans over multiple
lines
*/
// You can also use comments to leave out parts of a code line
$x = 5 /* + 15 */ + 5;
echo $x;
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
PHP Case Sensitivity

In PHP, NO keywords (e.g. if, else, while, echo, etc.), classes, functions, and
user-defined functions are case-sensitive.
In the example below, all three echo statements below are legal (and equal):
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
ECHO "Hello World!<br>";
echo "Hello World!<br>";
EcHo "Hello World!<br>";
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
However; all variable names are case-sensitive.
In the example below, only the first statement will display the value of the
$color variable (this is because $color, $COLOR, and $coLOR are treated as
three different variables):
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
$color = "red";
echo "My car is " . $color . "<br>";
echo "My house is " . $COLOR . "<br>";
echo "My boat is " . $coLOR . "<br>";
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Test Yourself With Exercises

Exercise:
Insert the missing part of the code below to output "Hello World".
"Hello World";
PHP 5 Variables
Variables are "containers" for storing information.
Creating (Declaring) PHP Variables

In PHP, a variable starts with the $ sign, followed by the name of the variable:
Example
<?php
$txt = "Hello world!";
$x = 5;
$y = 10.5;
?>
Run example »
After the execution of the statements above, the variable $txt will hold the
value Hello world!, the variable $x will hold the value 5, and the
variable $y will hold the value 10.5.
Note: When you assign a text value to a variable, put quotes around the value.
Note: Unlike other programming languages, PHP has no command for declaring
a variable. It is created the moment you first assign a value to it.
Think of variables as containers for storing data.
PHP Variables
A variable can have a short name (like x and y) or a more descriptive name
(age, carname, total_volume).
Rules for PHP variables:

 A variable starts with the $ sign, followed by the name of the variable
 A variable name must start with a letter or the underscore character
 A variable name cannot start with a number
 A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and
underscores (A-z, 0-9, and _ )
 Variable names are case-sensitive ($age and $AGE are two different
variables)
Remember that PHP variable names are case-sensitive!
Output Variables
The PHP echo statement is often used to output data to the screen.
The following example will show how to output text and a variable:
Example
<?php
$txt = "W3Schools.com";
echo "I love $txt!";
?>
Run example »
The following example will produce the same output as the example above:
Example
<?php
$txt = "W3Schools.com";
echo "I love " . $txt . "!";
?>
Run example »
The following example will output the sum of two variables:
Example
<?php
$x = 5;
$y = 4;
echo $x + $y;
?>
Run example »
Note: You will learn more about the echo statement and how to output data to
the screen in the next chapter.
PHP is a Loosely Typed Language

In the example above, notice that we did 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 other languages such as C, C++, and Java, the programmer must declare
the name and type of the variable before using it.
PHP Variables Scope

In PHP, variables can be declared anywhere in the script.
The scope of a variable is the part of the script where the variable can be
referenced/used.
PHP has three different variable scopes:
 local
 global
 static
Global and Local Scope

A variable declared outside a function has a GLOBAL SCOPE and can only be
accessed outside a function:
Example
<?php
$x = 5; // global scope
function myTest() {
// using x inside this function will generate an error
echo "<p>Variable x inside function is: $x</p>";
}
myTest();
echo "<p>Variable x outside function is: $x</p>";

?>
Run example »
A variable declared within a function has a LOCAL SCOPE and can only be
accessed within that function:
Example
<?php
function myTest() {
$x = 5; // local scope
echo "<p>Variable x inside function is: $x</p>";
}
myTest();
// using x outside the function will generate an error

echo "<p>Variable x outside function is: $x</p>";
?>
Run example »
You can have local variables with the same name in different functions, because
local variables are only recognized by the function in which they are declared.
PHP The global Keyword

The global keyword is used to access a global variable from within a function.
To do this, use the global keyword before the variables (inside the function):
Example
<?php
$x = 5;
$y = 10;
function myTest() {
global $x, $y;
$y = $x + $y;
}
myTest();
echo $y; // outputs 15
?>
Run example »
PHP also stores all global variables in an array called $GLOBALS[index].

The index holds the name of the variable. This array is also accessible from
within functions and can be used to update global variables directly.
The example above can be rewritten like this:
Example
<?php
$x = 5;
$y = 10;
function myTest() {
$GLOBALS['y'] = $GLOBALS['x'] + $GLOBALS['y'];
}
myTest();
echo $y; // outputs 15
?>
Run example »
PHP The static Keyword

Normally, when a function is completed/executed, all of its variables are
deleted. However, sometimes we want a local variable NOT to be deleted. We
need it for a further job.
To do this, use the static keyword when you first declare the variable:
Example
<?php
function myTest() {
static $x = 0;
echo $x;
$x++;
}
myTest();
myTest();
myTest();
?>
Run example »
Then, each time the function is called, that variable will still have the
information it contained from the last time the function was called.
Note: The variable is still local to the function.

Exercise:
Create a variable named txt and assign the value "Hello".
= " ";
PHP 5 echo and print Statements
In PHP there are two basic ways to get output: echo and print.
In this tutorial we use echo (and print) in almost every example. So, this
chapter contains a little more info about those two output statements.
PHP echo and print Statements

echo and print are more or less the same. They are both used to output data
to the screen.
The differences are small: echo has no return value while printhas a return
value of 1 so it can be used in expressions. echo can take multiple parameters
(although such usage is rare) while print can take one argument. echo is
marginally faster than print.
The PHP echo Statement

The echo statement can be used with or without parentheses:echo or echo().
Display Text
The following example shows how to output text with the echocommand (notice
that the text can contain HTML markup):
Example
<?php
echo "<h2>PHP is Fun!</h2>";
echo "Hello world!<br>";
echo "I'm about to learn PHP!<br>";
echo "This ", "string ", "was ", "made ", "with multiple parameters.";
?>
Run example »
Display Variables
The following example shows how to output text and variables with
the echo statement:
Example
<?php
$txt1 = "Learn PHP";
$txt2 = "W3Schools.com";
$x = 5;
$y = 4;
echo "<h2>" . $txt1 . "</h2>";

echo "Study PHP at " . $txt2 . "<br>";
echo $x + $y;
?>
Run example »
The PHP print Statement

The print statement can be used with or without
parentheses:print or print().
Display Text
The following example shows how to output text with the printcommand
(notice that the text can contain HTML markup):
Example
<?php
print "<h2>PHP is Fun!</h2>";
print "Hello world!<br>";
print "I'm about to learn PHP!";
?>
Run example »
Display Variables
The following example shows how to output text and variables with
the print statement:
Example
<?php
$txt1 = "Learn PHP";
$txt2 = "W3Schools.com";
$x = 5;
$y = 4;
print "<h2>" . $txt1 . "</h2>";

print "Study PHP at " . $txt2 . "<br>";
print $x + $y;
?>
PHP 5 Data Types
PHP Data Types

Variables can store data of different types, and different data types can do
different things.
PHP supports the following data types:
 String
 Integer
 Float (floating point numbers - also called double)
 Boolean
 Array
 Object
 NULL
 Resource
PHP String
A string is a sequence of characters, like "Hello world!".
A string can be any text inside quotes. You can use single or double quotes:
Example
<?php
$x = "Hello world!";
$y = 'Hello world!';
echo $x;
echo "<br>";
echo $y;
?>
Run example »
PHP Integer
An integer data type is a non-decimal number between -2,147,483,648 and
2,147,483,647.
Rules for integers:
 An integer must have at least one digit

 An integer must not have a decimal point
 An integer can be either positive or negative
 Integers can be specified in three formats: decimal (10-based),
hexadecimal (16-based - prefixed with 0x) or octal (8-based - prefixed
with 0)
In the following example $x is an integer. The PHP var_dump() function returns

the data type and value:
Example
<?php
$x = 5985;
var_dump($x);
?>
Run example »
PHP Float
A float (floating point number) is a number with a decimal point or a number in
exponential form.
In the following example $x is a float. The PHP var_dump() function returns the
data type and value:
Example
<?php
$x = 10.365;
var_dump($x);
?>
Run example »
PHP Boolean
A Boolean represents two possible states: TRUE or FALSE.
$x = true;
$y = false;
Booleans are often used in conditional testing. You will learn more about
conditional testing in a later chapter of this tutorial.
PHP Array
An array stores multiple values in one single variable.
In the following example $cars is an array. The PHP var_dump() function

returns the data type and value:
Example
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo","BMW","Toyota");
var_dump($cars);
?>
Run example »
You will learn a lot more about arrays in later chapters of this tutorial.
PHP Object
An object is a data type which stores data and information on how to process
that data.
In PHP, an object must be explicitly declared.
First we must declare a class of object. For this, we use the class keyword. A
class is a structure that can contain properties and methods:
Example
<?php
class Car {
function Car() {
$this->model = "VW";
}
}
// create an object
$herbie = new Car();
// show object properties

echo $herbie->model;
?>
Run example »
PHP NULL Value

Null is a special data type which can have only one value: NULL.
A variable of data type NULL is a variable that has no value assigned to it.
Tip: If a variable is created without a value, it is automatically assigned a value

of NULL.
Variables can also be emptied by setting the value to NULL:
Example
<?php
$x = "Hello world!";
$x = null;
var_dump($x);
?>
Run example »
PHP Resource
The special resource type is not an actual data type. It is the storing of a
reference to functions and resources external to PHP.
A common example of using the resource data type is a database call.
We will not talk about the resource type here, since it is an advanced topic.
PHP 5 Strings
A string is a sequence of characters, like "Hello world!".
PHP String Functions

In this chapter we will look at some commonly used functions to manipulate
strings.
Get The Length of a String

The PHP strlen() function returns the length of a string.
The example below returns the length of the string "Hello world!":
Example
<?php
echo strlen("Hello world!"); // outputs 12
?>
Run example »
The output of the code above will be: 12.
Count The Number of Words in a String

The PHP str_word_count() function counts the number of words in a string:
Example
<?php
echo str_word_count("Hello world!"); // outputs 2
?>
Run example »
Reverse a String
The PHP strrev() function reverses a string:
Example
<?php
echo strrev("Hello world!"); // outputs !dlrow olleH
?>
Run example »
The output of the code above will be: !dlrow olleH.
Search For a Specific Text Within a String

The PHP strpos() function searches for a specific text within a string.
If a match is found, the function returns the character position of the first
match. If no match is found, it will return FALSE.
The example below searches for the text "world" in the string "Hello world!":
Example
<?php
echo strpos("Hello world!", "world"); // outputs 6
?>
Run example »

Tip: The first character position in a string is 0 (not 1).
Replace Text Within a String

The PHP str_replace() function replaces some characters with some other
characters in a string.
The example below replaces the text "world" with "Dolly":
Example
<?php
echo str_replace("world", "Dolly", "Hello world!"); // outputs Hello
Dolly!
?>
Run example »
The output of the code above will be: Hello Dolly!
Complete PHP String Reference

For a complete reference of all string functions, go to our complete PHP String
Reference.
The PHP string reference contains description and example of use, for each
function!

Exercise:
Get the length of the string "Hello World!".
echo ("Hello World!");

PHP 5 Constants
Constants are like variables except that once they are defined they cannot
be changed or undefined.
PHP Constants
A constant is an identifier (name) for a simple value. The value cannot be
changed during the script.
A valid constant name starts with a letter or underscore (no $ sign before the
constant name).
Note: Unlike variables, constants are automatically global across the entire
script.
Create a PHP Constant

To create a constant, use the define() function.
Syntax
define(name, value, case-insensitive)
Parameters:
 name: Specifies the name of the constant

 value: Specifies the value of the constant
 case-insensitive: Specifies whether the constant name should be case-
insensitive. Default is false
The example below creates a constant with a case-sensitivename:

Example
<?php
define("GREETING", "Welcome to W3Schools.com!");
echo GREETING;
?>
Run example »
The example below creates a constant with a case-insensitivename:
Example
<?php
define("GREETING", "Welcome to W3Schools.com!", true);
echo greeting;
?>
Run example »
Constants are Global

Constants are automatically global and can be used across the entire script.
The example below uses a constant inside a function, even if it is defined

outside the function:
Example
<?php
define("GREETING", "Welcome to W3Schools.com!");
function myTest() {
echo GREETING;
}
myTest();
?>
PHP 5 Operators
PHP Operators
Operators are used to perform operations on variables and values.
PHP divides the operators in the following groups:
 Arithmetic operators
 Assignment operators
 Comparison operators
 Increment/Decrement operators
 Logical operators
 String operators
 Array operators
PHP Arithmetic Operators

The PHP arithmetic operators are used with numeric values to perform common
arithmetical operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication etc.
Operator Name Example Result Show

it
+ Addition $x + $y Sum of $x and $y Show

it »
- Subtraction $x - $y Difference of $x Show

and $y it »
* Multiplication $x * $y Product of $x and Show
$y it »
/ Division $x / $y Quotient of $x and Show

$y it »
% Modulus $x % $y Remainder of $x Show

divided by $y it »
** Exponentiation $x ** $y Result of raising

$x to the $y'th
power (Introduced
in PHP 5.6)
PHP Assignment Operators

The PHP assignment operators are used with numeric values to write a value to
a variable.
The basic assignment operator in PHP is "=". It means that the left operand
gets set to the value of the assignment expression on the right.
Assignment Same Description Show

as... it
x=y x=y The left operand gets set to Show it

the value of the expression »
on the right
x += y x=x Addition Show it
+y »
x -= y x = x - Subtraction Show it
y »
x *= y x = x * Multiplication Show it
y »
x /= y x = x / Division Show it
y »
x %= y x=x Modulus Show it

%y »
PHP Comparison Operators

The PHP comparison operators are used to compare two values (number or
string):

it
== Equal $x == $y Returns true if $x Show

is equal to $y it »
=== Identical $x === Returns true if $x Show

$y is equal to $y, and it »
they are of the
same type
!= Not equal $x != $y Returns true if $x Show

is not equal to $y it »
<> Not equal $x <> $y Returns true if $x Show

is not equal to $y it »
!== Not $x !== Returns true if $x Show

identical $y is not equal to $y, it »
or they are not of
the same type
> Greater $x > $y Returns true if $x Show

than is greater than $y it »
< Less than $x < $y Returns true if $x Show

is less than $y it »
>= Greater $x >= $y Returns true if $x Show

than or is greater than or it »
equal to equal to $y
<= Less than $x <= $y Returns true if $x Show
or equal to is less than or it »
equal to $y
PHP Increment / Decrement Operators

The PHP increment operators are used to increment a variable's value.
The PHP decrement operators are used to decrement a variable's value.
Operator Name Description Show it
++$x Pre- Increments $x by one, Show it

increment then returns $x »
$x++ Post- Returns $x, then Show it

increment increments $x by one »
--$x Pre- Decrements $x by one, Show it

decrement then returns $x »
$x-- Post- Returns $x, then Show it

decrement decrements $x by one »
PHP Logical Operators

The PHP logical operators are used to combine conditional statements.
Operator Name Example Result Show it
and And $x and $y True if both $x and Show it

$y are true »
or Or $x or $y True if either $x or Show it

$y is true »
xor Xor $x xor $y True if either $x or Show it

$y is true, but not »
both
&& And $x && $y True if both $x and Show it

$y are true »
|| Or $x || $y True if either $x or Show it

$y is true »
! Not !$x True if $x is not true Show it

»
PHP String Operators

PHP has two operators that are specially designed for strings.
it
. Concatenation $txt1 . Concatenation of Show

$txt2 $txt1 and $txt2 it »
.= Concatenation $txt1 .= Appends $txt2 to Show

assignment $txt2 $txt1 it »
PHP Array Operators

The PHP array operators are used to compare arrays.

it
+ Union $x + $y Union of $x and $y Show

it »
== Equality $x == $y Returns true if $x Show

and $y have the it »
same key/value
pairs
=== Identity $x === Returns true if $x Show

$y and $y have the it »
same key/value
pairs in the same
order and of the
same types
!= Inequality $x != $y Returns true if $x is Show

not equal to $y it »
<> Inequality $x <> $y Returns true if $x is Show

not equal to $y it »
!== Non- $x !== Returns true if $x is Show

identity $y not identical to $y it »

Exercise:
Multiply 10 with 5, and output the result.
echo 10 5;
PHP 5 if...else...elseif Statements
Conditional statements are used to perform different actions based on

different conditions.
PHP Conditional Statements

Very often when you write code, you want to perform different actions for
different conditions. You can use conditional statements in your code to do this.
In PHP we have the following conditional statements:
 if statement - executes some code if one condition is true

 if...else statement - executes some code if a condition is true and
another code if that condition is false
 if...elseif....else statement - executes different codes for more than
two conditions
 switch statement - selects one of many blocks of code to be executed
PHP - The if Statement

The if statement executes some code if one condition is true.
Syntax
if (condition) {
code to be executed if condition is true;
}
The example below will output "Have a good day!" if the current time (HOUR) is
less than 20:
Example
<?php
$t = date("H");
if ($t < "20") {

echo "Have a good day!";
}
?>
Run example »
PHP - The if...else Statement

The if....else statement executes some code if a condition is true and
another code if that condition is false.
Syntax
if (condition) {
code to be executed if condition is true;
} else {
code to be executed if condition is false;
}
The example below will output "Have a good day!" if the current time is less
than 20, and "Have a good night!" otherwise:
Example
<?php
$t = date("H");
if ($t < "20") {

} else {
echo "Have a good night!";
}
?>
Run example »
PHP - The if...elseif....else Statement
The if....elseif...else statement executes different codes for more than
two conditions.
Syntax
if (condition) {
code to be executed if this condition is true;
} elseif (condition) {
code to be executed if this condition is true;
} else {
code to be executed if all conditions are false;
}
The example below will output "Have a good morning!" if the current time is
less than 10, and "Have a good day!" if the current time is less than 20.
Otherwise it will output "Have a good night!":
Example
<?php
$t = date("H");
if ($t < "10") {

echo "Have a good morning!";
} elseif ($t < "20") {
} else {
echo "Have a good night!";
}
?>
Run example »
PHP - The switch Statement

The switch statement will be explained in the next chapter.
Exercise:
Output "Hello World" if $a is greater than $b.
$a = 50;
$b = 10;
> {
echo "Hello World";
}
PHP 5 switch Statement
The switch statement is 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:
break;
case label3:
break;
...
default:
code to be executed if n is different from all labels;
}
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
<?php
$favcolor = "red";
switch ($favcolor) {
case "red":
echo "Your favorite color is red!";
break;
case "blue":
echo "Your favorite color is blue!";
break;
case "green":
echo "Your favorite color is green!";
break;
default:
echo "Your favorite color is neither red, blue, nor green!";
}
?>
Run example »

Exercise:
Create a switch statement that will output "Hello" if $coloris "red", and "welcome"
if $color is "green".
($color) {
"red":
echo "Hello";
break;
"green":
echo "Welcome";
break;
}
PHP 5 while Loops
PHP while loops execute a block of code while the 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 code-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 as long as the specified condition is

true
 do...while - loops through a block of code once, and then repeats the
loop as long as the 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 PHP while Loop

The while loop executes a block of code as long as the specified condition is
true.
Syntax
while (condition is true) {
code to be executed;
}
The example below first sets a variable $x to 1 ($x = 1). Then, the while loop
will continue to run as long as $x is less than, or equal to 5 ($x <= 5). $x will
increase by 1 each time the loop runs ($x++):
Example
<?php
$x = 1;
while($x <= 5) {
echo "The number is: $x <br>";
$x++;
}
?>
Run example »
The PHP do...while Loop

The do...while loop will always execute the block of code once, it will then
check the condition, and repeat the loop while the specified condition is true.
Syntax
do {
} while (condition is true);
The example below first sets a variable $x to 1 ($x = 1). Then, the do while
loop will write some output, and then increment the variable $x with 1. Then
the condition is checked (is $x less than, or equal to 5?), and the loop will
continue to run as long as $x is less than, or equal to 5:
Example
<?php
$x = 1;
do {
$x++;
} while ($x <= 5);
?>
Run example »
Notice that in a do while loop the condition is tested AFTER executing the
statements within the loop. This means that the do while loop would execute
its statements at least once, even if the condition is false the first time.
The example below sets the $x variable to 6, then it runs the loop, and then
the condition is checked:
Example
<?php
$x = 6;
do {
$x++;
} while ($x <= 5);
?>
Run example »
The for loop and the foreach loop will be explained in the next chapter.

Exercise:
Output $i as long as $i is less than 6.
$i = 1;
($i < 6)
echo $i;
$i++;
PHP 5 for Loops
PHP for loops execute a block of code a specified number of times.
The PHP for Loop

The for loop is used when you know in advance how many times the script
should run.
Syntax
for (init counter; test counter; increment counter) {
}
Parameters:
 init counter: Initialize the loop counter value

 test counter: Evaluated for each loop iteration. If it evaluates to TRUE,
the loop continues. If it evaluates to FALSE, the loop ends.
 increment counter: Increases the loop counter value
The example below displays the numbers from 0 to 10:
Example
<?php
for ($x = 0; $x <= 10; $x++) {
}
?>
Run example »
The PHP foreach Loop
The foreach loop works only on arrays, and is used to loop through each
key/value pair in an array.
Syntax
foreach ($array as $value) {
}
For every loop iteration, the value of the current array element is assigned to
$value and the array pointer is moved by one, until it reaches the last array
element.
The following example demonstrates a loop that will output the values of the
given array ($colors):
Example
<?php
$colors = array("red", "green", "blue", "yellow");
foreach ($colors as $value) {

echo "$value <br>";
}
?>
Run example »
You will learn more about arrays in a later chapter.

Exercise:
Create a loop that runs from 0 to 9.
($i = 0; $i < 10; ) {

echo $i;
}
PHP 5 Functions
The real power of PHP comes from its functions; it has more than 1000 built-
in functions.
PHP User Defined Functions

Besides the built-in PHP functions, we can create our own functions.
A function is a block of statements that can be used repeatedly in a program.
A function will not execute immediately when a page loads.
A function will be executed by a call to the function.
Create a User Defined Function in PHP

A user-defined function declaration starts with the word function:
Syntax
function functionName() {
}
Note: A function name can start with a letter or underscore (not a number).
Tip: Give the function a name that reflects what the function does!
Function names are NOT case-sensitive.
In the example below, we create a function named "writeMsg()". The opening

curly brace ( { ) indicates the beginning of the function code and the closing
curly brace ( } ) indicates the end of the function. The function outputs "Hello
world!". To call the function, just write its name:
Example
<?php
function writeMsg() {
echo "Hello world!";
}
writeMsg(); // call the function

?>
Run example »
PHP Function Arguments

Information can be passed to functions through arguments. An argument is just
like a variable.
Arguments are specified after the function name, inside the parentheses. You
can add as many arguments as you want, just separate them with a comma.
The following example has a function with one argument ($fname). When the
familyName() function is called, we also pass along a name (e.g. Jani), and the
name is used inside the function, which outputs several different first names,
but an equal last name:
Example
<?php
function familyName($fname) {
echo "$fname Refsnes.<br>";
}
familyName("Jani");
familyName("Hege");
familyName("Stale");
familyName("Kai Jim");
familyName("Borge");
?>
Run example »
The following example has a function with two arguments ($fname and $year):
Example
<?php
function familyName($fname, $year) {
echo "$fname Refsnes. Born in $year <br>";
}
familyName("Hege", "1975");
familyName("Stale", "1978");
familyName("Kai Jim", "1983");
?>
Run example »
PHP Default Argument Value

The following example shows how to use a default parameter. If we call the
function setHeight() without arguments it takes the default value as argument:
Example
<?php
function setHeight($minheight = 50) {
echo "The height is : $minheight <br>";
}
setHeight(350);
setHeight(); // will use the default value of 50
setHeight(135);
setHeight(80);
?>
Run example »
PHP Functions - Returning values

To let a function return a value, use the return statement:
Example
<?php
function sum($x, $y) {
$z = $x + $y;
return $z;
}
echo "5 + 10 = " . sum(5, 10) . "<br>";

echo "7 + 13 = " . sum(7, 13) . "<br>";
echo "2 + 4 = " . sum(2, 4);
?>
Run example »

Exercise:
Create a function named myFunction.
{
echo "Hello World!";
}
PHP 5 Arrays
An array stores multiple values in one single variable:
Example
<?php
$cars = array("Volvo", "BMW", "Toyota");
echo "I like " . $cars[0] . ", " . $cars[1] . " and ". $cars[2] . ".";
?>
Run example »
What is an Array?
An array is a special variable, which can hold more than one value at a time.
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 = "Volvo";
$cars2 = "BMW";
$cars3 = "Toyota";
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 solution is to create an array!
An array can hold many values under a single name, and you can access the
values by referring to an index number.
Create an Array in PHP

In PHP, the array() function is used to create an array:
array();
In PHP, there are three types of arrays:
 Indexed arrays - Arrays with a numeric index

 Associative arrays - Arrays with named keys
 Multidimensional arrays - Arrays containing one or more arrays
PHP Indexed Arrays

There are two ways to create indexed arrays:
The index can be assigned automatically (index always starts at 0), like this:
or the index can be assigned manually:
$cars[0] = "Volvo";
$cars[1] = "BMW";
$cars[2] = "Toyota";
The following example creates an indexed array named $cars, assigns three
elements to it, and then prints a text containing the array values:
Example
<?php
echo "I like " . $cars[0] . ", " . $cars[1] . " and ". $cars[2] . ".";
?>
Run example »
Get The Length of an Array - The count()

Function
The count() function is used to return the length (the number of elements) of
an array:
Example
<?php
echo count($cars);
?>
Run example »
Loop Through an Indexed Array

To loop through and print all the values of an indexed array, you could use
a for loop, like this:
Example
<?php
$arrlength = count($cars);
for($x = 0; $x < $arrlength; $x++) {

echo $cars[$x];
echo "<br>";
}
?>
Run example »
PHP Associative Arrays

Associative arrays are arrays that use named keys that you assign to them.
There are two ways to create an associative array:
$age = array("Peter"=>"35", "Ben"=>"37", "Joe"=>"43");
or:
$age['Peter'] = "35";
$age['Ben'] = "37";
$age['Joe'] = "43";
The named keys can then be used in a script:
Example
<?php
echo "Peter is " . $age['Peter'] . " years old.";
?>
Run example »
Loop Through an Associative Array

To loop through and print all the values of an associative array, you could use
a foreach loop, like this:
Example
<?php
foreach($age as $x => $x_value) {

echo "Key=" . $x . ", Value=" . $x_value;
echo "<br>";
}
?>
Run example »
Multidimensional Arrays
Multidimensional arrays will be explained in the PHP advanced section.
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!

Exercise:
Use the correct function to output the number of items in an array.
$fruits = array("Apple", "Banana" "Orange");

echo ;
PHP 5 Sorting Arrays
The elements in an array can be sorted in alphabetical or numerical order,

descending or ascending.
PHP - Sort Functions For Arrays

In this chapter, we will go through the following PHP array sort functions:
 sort() - sort arrays in ascending order

 rsort() - sort arrays in descending order
 asort() - sort associative arrays in ascending order, according to the
value
 ksort() - sort associative arrays in ascending order, according to the key
 arsort() - sort associative arrays in descending order, according to the
value
 krsort() - sort associative arrays in descending order, according to the
key
Sort Array in Ascending Order - sort()

The following example sorts the elements of the $cars array in ascending
alphabetical order:
Example
<?php
sort($cars);
?>
Run example »
The following example sorts the elements of the $numbers array in ascending
numerical order:
Example
<?php
$numbers = array(4, 6, 2, 22, 11);
sort($numbers);
?>
Run example »
Sort Array in Descending Order - rsort()

The following example sorts the elements of the $cars array in descending
alphabetical order:
Example
<?php
rsort($cars);
?>
Run example »
The following example sorts the elements of the $numbers array in descending
numerical order:
Example
<?php
$numbers = array(4, 6, 2, 22, 11);
rsort($numbers);
?>
Run example »
Sort Array (Ascending Order), According to
Value - asort()
The following example sorts an associative array in ascending order, according
to the value:
Example
<?php
asort($age);
?>
Run example »
Sort Array (Ascending Order), According to Key

- ksort()
The following example sorts an associative array in ascending order, according
to the key:
Example
<?php
ksort($age);
?>
Run example »
Sort Array (Descending Order), According to

Value - arsort()
The following example sorts an associative array in descending order, according
to the value:
Example
<?php
arsort($age);
?>
Run example »
Sort Array (Descending Order), According to

Key - krsort()
The following example sorts an associative array in descending order, according
to the key:
Example
<?php
krsort($age);
?>
Run example »
Complete PHP Array Reference

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

Exercise:
Use the correct array method to sort the $colors array alphabetically.
$colors = array("red", "green", "blue", "yellow");

PHP 5 Global Variables - Superglobals
Superglobals were introduced in PHP 4.1.0, and are built-in variables that
are always available in all scopes.
PHP Global Variables - Superglobals

Several predefined variables in PHP are "superglobals", which means that they
are always accessible, regardless of scope - and you can access them from any
function, class or file without having to do anything special.
The PHP superglobal variables are:
 $GLOBALS
 $_SERVER
 $_REQUEST
 $_POST
 $_GET
 $_FILES
 $_ENV
 $_COOKIE
 $_SESSION
This chapter will explain some of the superglobals, and the rest will be explained
in later chapters.
PHP $GLOBALS
$GLOBALS is a PHP super global variable which is used to access global
variables from anywhere in the PHP script (also from within functions or
methods).
PHP stores all global variables in an array called $GLOBALS[index].

The index holds the name of the variable.
The example below shows how to use the super global variable $GLOBALS:
Example
<?php
$x = 75;
$y = 25;
function addition() {
$GLOBALS['z'] = $GLOBALS['x'] + $GLOBALS['y'];
}
addition();
echo $z;
?>
Run example »
In the example above, since z is a variable present within the $GLOBALS array,
it is also accessible from outside the function!
PHP $_SERVER
$_SERVER is a PHP super global variable which holds information about
headers, paths, and script locations.
The example below shows how to use some of the elements in $_SERVER:
Example
<?php
echo $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'];
echo "<br>";
echo $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'];
?>
Run example »
The following table lists the most important elements that can go inside
$_SERVER:
Element/Code Description
$_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] Returns the filename of

the currently executing
script
$_SERVER['GATEWAY_INTERFACE'] Returns the version of the

Common Gateway
Interface (CGI) the server
is using
$_SERVER['SERVER_ADDR'] Returns the IP address of

the host server
$_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'] Returns the name of the

host server (such as
www.w3schools.com)
$_SERVER['SERVER_SOFTWARE'] Returns the server

identification string (such
as Apache/2.2.24)
$_SERVER['SERVER_PROTOCOL'] Returns the name and

revision of the information
protocol (such as
HTTP/1.1)
$_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] Returns the request

method used to access the
page (such as POST)
$_SERVER['REQUEST_TIME'] Returns the timestamp of

the start of the request
(such as 1377687496)
$_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] Returns the query string if

the page is accessed via a
query string
$_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT'] Returns the Accept header

from the current request
$_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT_CHARSET'] Returns the

Accept_Charset header
(such as utf-8,ISO-8859-
1)
$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] Returns the Host header

$_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] Returns the complete URL

of the page from which
the current page was
called
$_SERVER['HTTPS'] Is the script queried
through a secure HTTP
protocol
$_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] Returns the IP address

from where the user is
viewing the current page
$_SERVER['REMOTE_HOST'] Returns the Host name

from where the user is
viewing the current page
$_SERVER['REMOTE_PORT'] Returns the port being

used on the user's
machine to communicate
with the web server
$_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'] Returns the absolute

pathname of the currently
executing script
$_SERVER['SERVER_ADMIN'] Returns the value given to

the SERVER_ADMIN
directive in the web server
configuration file (if your
script runs on a virtual
host, it will be the value
defined for that virtual
host) (such as
someone@w3schools.com)
$_SERVER['SERVER_PORT'] Returns the port on the
server machine being used
by the web server for
communication (such as
80)
$_SERVER['SERVER_SIGNATURE'] Returns the server version

and virtual host name
which are added to server-
generated pages
$_SERVER['PATH_TRANSLATED'] Returns the file system

based path to the current
script
$_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'] Returns the path of the

current script
$_SERVER['SCRIPT_URI'] Returns the URI of the

current page
PHP $_REQUEST
PHP $_REQUEST is used to collect data after submitting an HTML form.
The example below shows a form with an input field and a submit button. When
a user submits the data by clicking on "Submit", the form data is sent to the file
specified in the action attribute of the <form> tag. In this example, we point to
this file itself for processing form data. If you wish to use another PHP file to
process form data, replace that with the filename of your choice. Then, we can
use the super global variable $_REQUEST to collect the value of the input field:
Example
<html>
<body>
<form method="post" action="<?php echo$_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>">

Name: <input type="text" name="fname">
<input type="submit">
</form>
<?php
if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") {
// collect value of input field
$name = $_REQUEST['fname'];
if (empty($name)) {
echo "Name is empty";
} else {
echo $name;
}
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
PHP $_POST
PHP $_POST is widely used to collect form data after submitting an HTML form
with method="post". $_POST is also widely used to pass variables.
The example below shows a form with an input field and a submit button. When
a user submits the data by clicking on "Submit", the form data is sent to the file
specified in the action attribute of the <form> tag. In this example, we point to
the file itself for processing form data. If you wish to use another PHP file to
process form data, replace that with the filename of your choice. Then, we can
use the super global variable $_POST to collect the value of the input field:
Example
<html>
<body>
<form method="post" action="<?php echo$_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];?>">
Name: <input type="text" name="fname">
</form>
<?php
// collect value of input field
$name = $_POST['fname'];
if (empty($name)) {
echo "Name is empty";
} else {
echo $name;
}
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
PHP $_GET
PHP $_GET can also be used to collect form data after submitting an HTML form
with method="get".
$_GET can also collect data sent in the URL.
Assume we have an HTML page that contains a hyperlink with parameters:
<html>
<body>
<a href="test_get.php?subject=PHP&web=W3schools.com">Test $GET</a>
</body>
</html>
When a user clicks on the link "Test $GET", the parameters "subject" and "web"
are sent to "test_get.php", and you can then access their values in
"test_get.php" with $_GET.
The example below shows the code in "test_get.php":
Example
<html>
<body>
<?php
echo "Study " . $_GET['subject'] . " at " . $_GET['web'];
?>
</body>
</html>
PHP 5 Form Handling
The PHP superglobals $_GET and $_POST are used to collect form-data.
PHP - A Simple HTML Form

The example below displays a simple HTML form with two input fields and a
submit button:
Example
<html>
<body>
<form action="welcome.php" method="post">

Name: <input type="text" name="name"><br>
E-mail: <input type="text" name="email"><br>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
When the user fills out the form above and clicks the submit button, the form
data is sent for processing to a PHP file named "welcome.php". The form data is
sent with the HTTP POST method.
To display the submitted data you could simply echo all the variables. The
"welcome.php" looks like this:
<html>
<body>
Welcome <?php echo $_POST["name"]; ?><br>

Your email address is: <?php echo $_POST["email"]; ?>
</body>
</html>
The output could be something like this:
Welcome John
Your email address is john.doe@example.com
The same result could also be achieved using the HTTP GET method:
Example
<html>
<body>
<form action="welcome_get.php" method="get">

Name: <input type="text" name="name"><br>
E-mail: <input type="text" name="email"><br>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
and "welcome_get.php" looks like this:
<html>
<body>
Welcome <?php echo $_GET["name"]; ?><br>

Your email address is: <?php echo $_GET["email"]; ?>
</body>
</html>
The code above is quite simple. However, the most important thing is missing.
You need to validate form data to protect your script from malicious code.
Think SECURITY when processing PHP forms!
This page does not contain any form validation, it just shows how you can send
and retrieve form data.
However, the next pages will show how to process PHP forms with security in
mind! Proper validation of form data is important to protect your form from
hackers and spammers!
GET vs. POST

Both GET and POST create an array (e.g. array( key1 => value1, key2 =>
value2, key3 => value3, ...)). This array holds key/value pairs, where keys are
the names of the form controls and values are the input data from the user.
Both GET and POST are treated as $_GET and $_POST. These are superglobals,
which means that they are always accessible, regardless of scope - and you can
access them from any function, class or file without having to do anything
special.
$_GET is an array of variables passed to the current script via the URL
parameters.
$_POST is an array of variables passed to the current script via the HTTP POST
method.
When to use GET?

Information sent from a form with the GET method is visible to everyone (all
variable names and values are displayed in the URL). GET also has limits on the
amount of information to send. The limitation is about 2000 characters.
However, because the variables are displayed in the URL, it is possible to
bookmark the page. This can be useful in some cases.
GET may be used for sending non-sensitive data.
Note: GET should NEVER be used for sending passwords or other sensitive
information!
When to use POST?
Information sent from a form with the POST method is invisible to others (all
names/values are embedded within the body of the HTTP request) and has no
limits on the amount of information to send.
Moreover POST supports advanced functionality such as support for multi-part

binary input while uploading files to server.
However, because the variables are not displayed in the URL, it is not possible
to bookmark the page.
Developers prefer POST for sending form data.
Next, lets see how we can process PHP forms the secure way!

Exercise:
If the form in the white section below gets submitted, how can you, in
welcome.php, output the value from the "first name" field?
<form action="welcome.php" method="get">

First name: <input type="text" name="fname">
</form>
<html>
<body>
Welcome <?php echo ; ?>
</body>
</html>
PHP 5 Form Validation
This and the next chapters show how to use PHP to validate form data.
PHP Form Validation

Think SECURITY when processing PHP forms!
These pages will show how to process PHP forms with security in mind. Proper
validation of form data is important to protect your form from hackers and
spammers!
The HTML form we will be working at in these chapters, contains various input
fields: required and optional text fields, radio buttons, and a submit button:
The validation rules for the form above are as follows:
Field Validation Rules
Name Required. + Must only contain letters and

whitespace
E-mail Required. + Must contain a valid email address

(with @ and .)
Website Optional. If present, it must contain a valid URL

Comment Optional. Multi-line input field (textarea)
Gender Required. Must select one
First we will look at the plain HTML code for the form:
Text Fields
The name, email, and website fields are text input elements, and the comment
field is a textarea. The HTML code looks like this:
Name: <input type="text" name="name">

E-mail: <input type="text" name="email">
Website: <input type="text" name="website">
Comment: <textarea name="comment" rows="5" cols="40"></textarea>
Radio Buttons
The gender fields are radio buttons and the HTML code looks like this:
Gender:
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="female">Female
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="male">Male
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="other">Other
The Form Element

The HTML code of the form looks like this:
<form method="post" action="<?php echohtmlspecialchars($_SERVER["PHP_S
ELF"]);?>">
When the form is submitted, the form data is sent with method="post".
What is the $_SERVER["PHP_SELF"] variable?
The $_SERVER["PHP_SELF"] is a super global variable that returns the filename

of the currently executing script.
So, the $_SERVER["PHP_SELF"] sends the submitted form data to the page
itself, instead of jumping to a different page. This way, the user will get error
messages on the same page as the form.
What is the htmlspecialchars() function?
The htmlspecialchars() function converts special characters to HTML entities.

This means that it will replace HTML characters like < and > with < and >.
This prevents attackers from exploiting the code by injecting HTML or Javascript
code (Cross-site Scripting attacks) in forms.
Big Note on PHP Form Security

The $_SERVER["PHP_SELF"] variable can be used by hackers!
If PHP_SELF is used in your page then a user can enter a slash (/) and then
some Cross Site Scripting (XSS) commands to execute.
Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a type of computer security vulnerability

typically found in Web applications. XSS enables attackers to inject
client-side script into Web pages viewed by other users.
Assume we have the following form in a page named "test_form.php":
<form method="post" action="<?php echo$_SERVER["PHP_SELF"];?>">
Now, if a user enters the normal URL in the address bar like
"http://www.example.com/test_form.php", the above code will be translated to:
<form method="post" action="test_form.php">
So far, so good.
However, consider that a user enters the following URL in the address bar:
http://www.example.com/test_form.php/%22%3E%3Cscript%3Ealert('hacked')
%3C/script%3E
In this case, the above code will be translated to:
<form method="post" action="test_form.php/"><script>alert('hacked')</s

cript>
This code adds a script tag and an alert command. And when the page loads,
the JavaScript code will be executed (the user will see an alert box). This is just
a simple and harmless example how the PHP_SELF variable can be exploited.
Be aware of that any JavaScript code can be added inside the <script>
tag! A hacker can redirect the user to a file on another server, and that file can
hold malicious code that can alter the global variables or submit the form to
another address to save the user data, for example.
How To Avoid $_SERVER["PHP_SELF"] Exploits?

$_SERVER["PHP_SELF"] exploits can be avoided by using the htmlspecialchars()
function.
The form code should look like this:

ELF"]);?>">
The htmlspecialchars() function converts special characters to HTML entities.

Now if the user tries to exploit the PHP_SELF variable, it will result in the
following output:
<form method="post"action="test_form.php/"><script>alert
('hacked')</script>">
The exploit attempt fails, and no harm is done!
Validate Form Data With PHP

The first thing we will do is to pass all variables through PHP's
htmlspecialchars() function.
When we use the htmlspecialchars() function; then if a user tries to submit the
following in a text field:
<script>location.href('http://www.hacked.com')</script>
- this would not be executed, because it would be saved as HTML escaped code,
like this:
<script>location.href('http://www.hacked.com')</script>
The code is now safe to be displayed on a page or inside an e-mail.
We will also do two more things when the user submits the form:
1. Strip unnecessary characters (extra space, tab, newline) from the user
input data (with the PHP trim() function)
2. Remove backslashes (\) from the user input data (with the PHP
stripslashes() function)
The next step is to create a function that will do all the checking for us (which is
much more convenient than writing the same code over and over again).
We will name the function test_input().
Now, we can check each $_POST variable with the test_input() function, and
the script looks like this:
Example
<?php
// define variables and set to empty values
$name = $email = $gender = $comment = $website = "";
$name = test_input($_POST["name"]);
$email = test_input($_POST["email"]);
$website = test_input($_POST["website"]);
$comment = test_input($_POST["comment"]);
$gender = test_input($_POST["gender"]);
}
function test_input($data) {
$data = trim($data);
$data = stripslashes($data);
$data = htmlspecialchars($data);
return $data;
}
?>
PHP 5 Forms - Required Fields
This chapter shows how to make input fields required and create error
messages if needed.
PHP - Required Fields

From the validation rules table on the previous page, we see that the "Name",
"E-mail", and "Gender" fields are required. These fields cannot be empty and
must be filled out in the HTML form.
Field Validation Rules
Name Required. + Must only contain letters and

whitespace
E-mail Required. + Must contain a valid email address

(with @ and .)
Website Optional. If present, it must contain a valid URL
Comment Optional. Multi-line input field (textarea)
Gender Required. Must select one

In the previous chapter, all input fields were optional.
In the following code we have added some new variables: $nameErr, $emailErr,
$genderErr, and $websiteErr. These error variables will hold error messages for
the required fields. We have also added an if else statement for each $_POST
variable. This checks if the $_POST variable is empty (with the
PHP empty()function). If it is empty, an error message is stored in the different
error variables, and if it is not empty, it sends the user input data through
the test_input() function:
<?php
$nameErr = $emailErr = $genderErr = $websiteErr = "";
if (empty($_POST["name"])) {
$nameErr = "Name is required";
} else {
}
if (empty($_POST["email"])) {
$emailErr = "Email is required";
} else {
}
if (empty($_POST["website"])) {
$website = "";
} else {
}
if (empty($_POST["comment"])) {
$comment = "";
} else {
}
if (empty($_POST["gender"])) {
$genderErr = "Gender is required";
} else {
}
}
?>
PHP - Display The Error Messages

Then in the HTML form, we add a little script after each required field, which
generates the correct error message if needed (that is if the user tries to submit
the form without filling out the required fields):
Example
ELF"]);?>">
Name: <input type="text" name="name">

<span class="error">* <?php echo $nameErr;?></span>
<br><br>
E-mail:
<input type="text" name="email">
<span class="error">* <?php echo $emailErr;?></span>
<br><br>
Website:
<input type="text" name="website">
<span class="error"><?php echo $websiteErr;?></span>
<br><br>
Comment: <textarea name="comment" rows="5" cols="40"></textarea>
<br><br>
Gender:
<input type="radio" name="gender"value="female">Female
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="male">Male
<input type="radio" name="gender" value="other">Other
<span class="error">* <?php echo $genderErr;?></span>
<br><br>
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
PHP 5 Forms - Validate E-mail and URL
This chapter shows how to validate names, e-mails, and URLs.
PHP - Validate Name

The code below shows a simple way to check if the name field only contains
letters and whitespace. If the value of the name field is not valid, then store an
error message:
if (!preg_match("/^[a-zA-Z ]*$/",$name)) {
$nameErr = "Only letters and white space allowed";
}
The preg_match() function searches a string for pattern, returning true if the
pattern exists, and false otherwise.
PHP - Validate E-mail

The easiest and safest way to check whether an email address is well-formed is
to use PHP's filter_var() function.
In the code below, if the e-mail address is not well-formed, then store an error
message:
if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
$emailErr = "Invalid email format";
}
PHP - Validate URL
The code below shows a way to check if a URL address syntax is valid (this
regular expression also allows dashes in the URL). If the URL address syntax is
not valid, then store an error message:
if (!preg_match("/\b(?:(?:https?|ftp):\/\/|www\.)[-a-z0-
9+&@#\/%?=~_|!:,.;]*[-a-z0-9+&@#\/%=~_|]/i",$website)) {
$websiteErr = "Invalid URL";
}
PHP - Validate Name, E-mail, and URL

Now, the script looks like this:
Example
<?php
$nameErr = $emailErr = $genderErr = $websiteErr = "";
if (empty($_POST["name"])) {
$nameErr = "Name is required";
} else {
// check if name only contains letters and whitespace
if (!preg_match("/^[a-zA-Z ]*$/",$name)) {
$nameErr = "Only letters and white space allowed";
}
}
if (empty($_POST["email"])) {
$emailErr = "Email is required";
} else {
// check if e-mail address is well-formed
if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) {
$emailErr = "Invalid email format";
}
}
if (empty($_POST["website"])) {
$website = "";
} else {
// check if URL address syntax is valid (this regular expression
also allows dashes in the URL)
if (!preg_match("/\b(?:(?:https?|ftp):\/\/|www\.)[-a-z0-
9+&@#\/%?=~_|!:,.;]*[-a-z0-9+&@#\/%=~_|]/i",$website)) {
$websiteErr = "Invalid URL";
}
}
if (empty($_POST["comment"])) {
$comment = "";
} else {
}
if (empty($_POST["gender"])) {
$genderErr = "Gender is required";
} else {
}
}
?>
PHP 5 Complete Form Example
This chapter shows how to keep the values in the input fields when the user
hits the submit button.
PHP - Keep The Values in The Form

To show the values in the input fields after the user hits the submit button, we
add a little PHP script inside the value attribute of the following input fields:
name, email, and website. In the comment textarea field, we put the script
between the <textarea> and </textarea> tags. The little script outputs the
value of the $name, $email, $website, and $comment variables.
Then, we also need to show which radio button that was checked. For this, we
must manipulate the checked attribute (not the value attribute for radio
buttons):
Name: <input type="text" name="name" value="<?php echo$name;?>">
E-mail: <input type="text" name="email" value="<?phpecho $email;?>">
Website: <input type="text" name="website" value="<?phpecho $website;?

>">
Comment: <textarea name="comment" rows="5" cols="40"><?php echo $comme

nt;?></textarea>
Gender:
<input type="radio" name="gender"
<?php if (isset($gender) && $gender=="female") echo"checked";?>
value="female">Female
<?php if (isset($gender) && $gender=="male") echo"checked";?>
value="male">Male
<?php if (isset($gender) && $gender=="other") echo"checked";?>
value="other">Other
PHP - Complete Form Example
Here is the complete code for the PHP Form Validation Example:
Example
Run example »
PHP 5 Multidimensional Arrays
Earlier in this tutorial, we have described arrays that are a single list of
key/value pairs.
However, sometimes you want to store values with more than one key.
This can be stored in multidimensional arrays.
PHP - Multidimensional Arrays

A multidimensional array is an array containing one or more arrays.
PHP understands multidimensional arrays that are two, three, four, five, or
more levels deep. However, arrays more than three levels deep are hard to
manage for most people.
The dimension of an array indicates the number of indices you need to

select an element.
 For a two-dimensional array you need two indices to select an element

 For a three-dimensional array you need three indices to select an element
PHP - Two-dimensional Arrays

A two-dimensional array is an array of arrays (a three-dimensional array is an
array of arrays of arrays).
First, take a look at the following table:
Name Stock Sold

Volvo 22 18
BMW 15 13
Saab 5 2
Land Rover 17 15
We can store the data from the table above in a two-dimensional array, like
this:
$cars = array
(
array("Volvo",22,18),
array("BMW",15,13),
array("Saab",5,2),
array("Land Rover",17,15)
);
Now the two-dimensional $cars array contains four arrays, and it has two
indices: row and column.
To get access to the elements of the $cars array we must point to the two
indices (row and column):
Example
<?php
echo $cars[0][0].": In stock: ".$cars[0][1].", sold:
".$cars[0][2].".<br>";
".$cars[1][2].".<br>";
".$cars[2][2].".<br>";
".$cars[3][2].".<br>";
?>
Run example »
We can also put a for loop inside another for loop to get the elements of the
$cars array (we still have to point to the two indices):
Example
<?php
for ($row = 0; $row < 4; $row++) {
echo "<p><b>Row number $row</b></p>";
echo "<ul>";
for ($col = 0; $col < 3; $col++) {
echo "<li>".$cars[$row][$col]."</li>";
}
echo "</ul>";
}
?>
PHP 5 Date and Time
The PHP date() function is used to format a date and/or a time.
The PHP Date() Function

The PHP date() function formats a timestamp to a more readable date and
time.
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
A timestamp is a sequence of characters, denoting the date and/or time at

which a certain event occurred.
Get a Simple Date

The required format parameter of the date() function specifies how to format
the date (or time).
Here are some characters that are commonly used for dates:
 d - Represents the day of the month (01 to 31)

 m - Represents a month (01 to 12)
 Y - Represents a year (in four digits)
 l (lowercase 'L') - Represents the day of the week
Other characters, like"/", ".", or "-" can also be inserted between the characters
to add additional formatting.
The example below formats today's date in three different ways:
Example
<?php
echo "Today is " . date("Y/m/d") . "<br>";
echo "Today is " . date("Y.m.d") . "<br>";
echo "Today is " . date("Y-m-d") . "<br>";
echo "Today is " . date("l");
?>
Run example »
PHP Tip - Automatic Copyright Year

Use the date() function to automatically update the copyright year on your
website:
Example
© 2010-<?php echo date("Y");?>
Run example »
Get a Simple Time

Here are some characters that are commonly used for times:
 H - 24-hour format of an hour (00 to 23)

 h - 12-hour format of an hour with leading zeros (01 to 12)
 i - Minutes with leading zeros (00 to 59)
 s - Seconds with leading zeros (00 to 59)
 a - Lowercase Ante meridiem and Post meridiem (am or pm)
The example below outputs the current time in the specified format:
Example
<?php
echo "The time is " . date("h:i:sa");
?>
Run example »
Note that the PHP date() function will return the current date/time of the
server!
Get Your Time Zone

If the time you got back from the code is not the right time, it's probably
because your server is in another country or set up for a different timezone.
So, if you need the time to be correct according to a specific location, you can
set a timezone to use.
The example below sets the timezone to "America/New_York", then outputs the
current time in the specified format:
Example
<?php
date_default_timezone_set("America/New_York");
echo "The time is " . date("h:i:sa");
?>
Run example »
Create a Date With PHP mktime()

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 (as
shown in the examples above).
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
mktime(hour,minute,second,month,day,year)
The example below creates a date and time from a number of parameters in
the mktime() function:
Example
<?php
$d=mktime(11, 14, 54, 8, 12, 2014);
echo "Created date is " . date("Y-m-d h:i:sa", $d);
?>
Run example »
Create a Date From a String With PHP

strtotime()
The PHP strtotime() function is used to convert a human readable string to a
Unix time.
Syntax
strtotime(time,now)
The example below creates a date and time from the strtotime() function:
Example
<?php
$d=strtotime("10:30pm April 15 2014");
echo "Created date is " . date("Y-m-d h:i:sa", $d);
?>
Run example »
PHP is quite clever about converting a string to a date, so you can put in various
values:
Example
<?php
$d=strtotime("tomorrow");
echo date("Y-m-d h:i:sa", $d) . "<br>";
$d=strtotime("next Saturday");
$d=strtotime("+3 Months");
?>
Run example »
However, strtotime() is not perfect, so remember to check the strings you put
in there.
More Date Examples

The example below outputs the dates for the next six Saturdays:
Example
<?php
$startdate = strtotime("Saturday");
$enddate = strtotime("+6 weeks", $startdate);
while ($startdate < $enddate) {

echo date("M d", $startdate) . "<br>";
$startdate = strtotime("+1 week", $startdate);
}
?>
Run example »
The example below outputs the number of days until 4th of July:
Example
<?php
$d1=strtotime("July 04");
$d2=ceil(($d1-time())/60/60/24);
echo "There are " . $d2 ." days until 4th of July.";
?>
Run example »
Complete PHP Date Reference

For a complete reference of all date functions, go to our completePHP Date
Reference.
function!

Exercise:
Use the correct date function to output todays day of the week (monday, tuesday
etc.).
echo ;
PHP 5 Include Files
The include (or require) statement takes all the text/code/markup that
exists in the specified file and copies it into the file that uses the include
statement.
Including files is very useful when you want to include the same PHP, HTML,
or text on multiple pages of a website.
PHP include and require Statements

It is possible to insert the content of one PHP file into another PHP file (before
the server executes it), with the include or require statement.
The include and require statements are identical, except upon failure:
 require will produce a fatal error (E_COMPILE_ERROR) and stop the

script
 include will only produce a warning (E_WARNING) and the script will
continue
So, if you want the execution to go on and show users the output, even if the
include file is missing, use the include statement. Otherwise, in case of
FrameWork, CMS, or a complex PHP application coding, always use the require
statement to include a key file to the flow of execution. This will help avoid
compromising your application's security and integrity, just in-case one key file
is accidentally missing.
Including files saves a lot of work. This means that you can create a standard
header, footer, or menu file for all your web pages. Then, when the header
needs to be updated, you can only update the header include file.
Syntax
include 'filename';
or
require 'filename';
PHP include Examples

Example 1
Assume we have a standard footer file called "footer.php", that looks like this:
<?php
echo "<p>Copyright © 1999-" . date("Y") . " W3Schools.com</p>";
?>
To include the footer file in a page, use the include statement:
Example
<html>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to my home page!</h1>

<p>Some text.</p>
<p>Some more text.</p>
<?php include 'footer.php';?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Example 2
Assume we have a standard menu file called "menu.php":
<?php
echo '<a href="/default.asp">Home</a> -
<a href="/html/default.asp">HTML Tutorial</a> -
<a href="/css/default.asp">CSS Tutorial</a> -
<a href="/js/default.asp">JavaScript Tutorial</a> -
<a href="default.asp">PHP Tutorial</a>';
?>
All pages in the Web site should use this menu file. Here is how it can be done
(we are using a <div> element so that the menu easily can be styled with CSS
later):
Example
<html>
<body>
<div class="menu">
<?php include 'menu.php';?>
</div>

<p>Some text.</p>
<p>Some more text.</p>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Example 3
Assume we have a file called "vars.php", with some variables defined:
<?php
$color='red';
$car='BMW';
?>
Then, if we include the "vars.php" file, the variables can be used in the calling
file:
Example
<html>
<body>
<?php include 'vars.php';
echo "I have a $color $car.";
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
PHP include vs. require

The require statement is also used to include a file into the PHP code.
However, there is one big difference between include and require; when a file is
included with the include statement and PHP cannot find it, the script will
continue to execute:
Example
<html>
<body>

<?php include 'noFileExists.php';
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
If we do the same example using the require statement, the echo statement
will not be executed because the script execution dies after
the require statement returned a fatal error:
Example
<html>
<body>

<?php require 'noFileExists.php';
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Use require when the file is required by the application.
Use include when the file is not required and application should continue when
file is not found.

Exercise:
Write a correct syntax to include a file named "footer.php".
<?php ;?>
PHP 5 File Handling
File handling is an important part of any web application. You often need to
open and process a file for different tasks.
PHP Manipulating Files

PHP has several functions for creating, reading, uploading, and editing files.
Be careful when manipulating files!
When you are manipulating files you must be very careful.
You can do a lot of damage if you do something wrong. Common errors are:
editing the wrong file, filling a hard-drive with garbage data, and deleting the
content of a file by accident.
PHP readfile() Function

The readfile() function reads a file and writes it to the output buffer.
Assume we have a text file called "webdictionary.txt", stored on the server, that
looks like this:
AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript and XML

CSS = Cascading Style Sheets
HTML = Hyper Text Markup Language
PHP = PHP Hypertext Preprocessor
SQL = Structured Query Language
SVG = Scalable Vector Graphics
XML = EXtensible Markup Language
The PHP code to read the file and write it to the output buffer is as follows
(the readfile() function returns the number of bytes read on success):
Example
<?php
echo readfile("webdictionary.txt");
?>
Run example »
The readfile() function is useful if all you want to do is open up a file and read
its contents.
The next chapters will teach you more about file handling.

Exercise:
Assume we have a file named "webdict.txt", write the correct syntax to open and
read the file content.
echo ;
PHP 5 File Open/Read/Close
In this chapter we will teach you how to open, read, and close a file on the
server.
PHP Open File - fopen()

A better method to open files is with the fopen() function. This function gives
you more options than the readfile() function.
We will use the text file, "webdictionary.txt", during the lessons:
AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript and XML

CSS = Cascading Style Sheets
HTML = Hyper Text Markup Language
PHP = PHP Hypertext Preprocessor
SQL = Structured Query Language
SVG = Scalable Vector Graphics
XML = EXtensible Markup Language
The first parameter of fopen() contains the name of the file to be opened and
the second parameter specifies in which mode the file should be opened. The
following example also generates a message if the fopen() function is unable to
open the specified file:
Example
<?php
$myfile = fopen("webdictionary.txt", "r") ordie("Unable to open
file!");
echo fread($myfile,filesize("webdictionary.txt"));
fclose($myfile);
?>
Run example »
Tip: The fread() and the fclose() functions will be explained below.
The file may be opened in one of the following modes:
Modes Description
r Open a file for read only. File pointer starts at the

beginning of the file
w Open a file for write only. Erases the contents of

the file or creates a new file if it doesn't exist. File
pointer starts at the beginning of the file
a Open a file for write only. The existing data in file

is preserved. File pointer starts at the end of the file.
Creates a new file if the file doesn't exist
x Creates a new file for write only. Returns FALSE

and an error if file already exists
r+ Open a file for read/write. File pointer starts at

the beginning of the file
w+ Open a file for read/write. Erases the contents of

the file or creates a new file if it doesn't exist. File
pointer starts at the beginning of the file
a+ Open a file for read/write. The existing data in file

is preserved. File pointer starts at the end of the file.
Creates a new file if the file doesn't exist
x+ Creates a new file for read/write. Returns FALSE
and an error if file already exists
PHP Read File - fread()

The fread() function reads from an open file.
The first parameter of fread() contains the name of the file to read from and
the second parameter specifies the maximum number of bytes to read.
The following PHP code reads the "webdictionary.txt" file to the end:
fread($myfile,filesize("webdictionary.txt"));
PHP Close File - fclose()

The fclose() function is used to close an open file.
It's a good programming practice to close all files after you have finished with
them. You don't want an open file running around on your server taking up
resources!
The fclose() requires the name of the file (or a variable that holds the
filename) we want to close:
<?php
$myfile = fopen("webdictionary.txt", "r");
// some code to be executed....
fclose($myfile);
?>
PHP Read Single Line - fgets()
The fgets() function is used to read a single line from a file.
The example below outputs the first line of the "webdictionary.txt" file:
Example
<?php
file!");
echo fgets($myfile);
fclose($myfile);
?>
Run example »
Note: After a call to the fgets() function, the file pointer has moved to the
next line.
PHP Check End-Of-File - feof()

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.
The example below reads the "webdictionary.txt" file line by line, until end-of-
file is reached:
Example
<?php
file!");
// Output one line until end-of-file
while(!feof($myfile)) {
echo fgets($myfile) . "<br>";
}
fclose($myfile);
?>
Run example »
PHP Read Single Character - fgetc()
The fgetc() function is used to read a single character from a file.
The example below reads the "webdictionary.txt" file character by character,

until end-of-file is reached:
Example
<?php
file!");
// Output one character until end-of-file
while(!feof($myfile)) {
echo fgetc($myfile);
}
fclose($myfile);
?>
Run example »
Note: After a call to the fgetc() function, the file pointer moves to the next
character.
Complete PHP Filesystem Reference

For a complete reference of filesystem functions, go to our complete PHP
Filesystem Reference.

Exercise:
Open a file, and write the correct syntax to output one character at the time, until
end-of-file.
$myfile = fopen("webdict.txt", "r");
while(! ($myfile)) {
echo ($myfile);
}
PHP 5 File Create/Write
In this chapter we will teach you how to create and write to a file on the
server.
PHP Create File - fopen()

The fopen() function is also used to create a file. Maybe a little confusing, but
in PHP, a file is created using the same function used to open files.
If you use fopen() on a file that does not exist, it will create it, given that the
file is opened for writing (w) or appending (a).
The example below creates a new file called "testfile.txt". The file will be created
in the same directory where the PHP code resides:
Example
$myfile = fopen("testfile.txt", "w")
PHP File Permissions

If you are having errors when trying to get this code to run, check that you
have granted your PHP file access to write information to the hard drive.
PHP Write to File - fwrite()

The fwrite() function is used to write to a file.
The first parameter of fwrite() contains the name of the file to write to and
the second parameter is the string to be written.
The example below writes a couple of names into a new file called "newfile.txt":
Example
<?php
$myfile = fopen("newfile.txt", "w") or die("Unable to open file!");
$txt = "John Doe\n";
fwrite($myfile, $txt);
$txt = "Jane Doe\n";
fclose($myfile);
?>
Notice that we wrote to the file "newfile.txt" twice. Each time we wrote to the
file we sent the string $txt that first contained "John Doe" and second contained
"Jane Doe". After we finished writing, we closed the file using
the fclose() function.
If we open the "newfile.txt" file it would look like this:
John Doe
Jane Doe
PHP Overwriting
Now that "newfile.txt" contains some data we can show what happens when we
open an existing file for writing. All the existing data will be ERASED and we
start with an empty file.
In the example below we open our existing file "newfile.txt", and write some
new data into it:
Example
<?php
$myfile = fopen("newfile.txt", "w") or die("Unable to open file!");
$txt = "Mickey Mouse\n";
$txt = "Minnie Mouse\n";
fclose($myfile);
?>
If we now open the "newfile.txt" file, both John and Jane have vanished, and
only the data we just wrote is present:
Mickey Mouse
Minnie Mouse
PHP 5 File Upload
With PHP, it is easy to upload files to the server.
However, with ease comes danger, so always be careful when allowing file
uploads!
Configure The "php.ini" File

First, ensure that PHP is configured to allow file uploads.
In your "php.ini" file, search for the file_uploads directive, and set it to On:
file_uploads = On
Create The HTML Form

Next, create an HTML form that allow users to choose the image file they want
to upload:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<form action="upload.php" method="post"enctype="multipart/form-data">

Select image to upload:
<input type="file" name="fileToUpload"id="fileToUpload">
<input type="submit" value="Upload Image"name="submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
Some rules to follow for the HTML form above:

 Make sure that the form uses method="post"
 The form also needs the following attribute: enctype="multipart/form-
data". It specifies which content-type to use when submitting the form
Without the requirements above, the file upload will not work.
Other things to notice:
 The type="file" attribute of the <input> tag shows the input field as a
file-select control, with a "Browse" button next to the input control
The form above sends data to a file called "upload.php", which we will create
next.
Create The Upload File PHP Script

The "upload.php" file contains the code for uploading a file:
<?php
$target_dir = "uploads/";
$target_file = $target_dir .
basename($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["name"]);
$uploadOk = 1;
$imageFileType =strtolower(pathinfo($target_file,PATHINFO_EXTENSION));
// Check if image file is a actual image or fake image
if(isset($_POST["submit"])) {
$check = getimagesize($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["tmp_name"]);
if($check !== false) {
echo "File is an image - " . $check["mime"] . ".";
$uploadOk = 1;
} else {
echo "File is not an image.";
$uploadOk = 0;
}
}
?>
PHP script explained:

 $target_dir = "uploads/" - specifies the directory where the file is going to
be placed
 $target_file specifies the path of the file to be uploaded
 $uploadOk=1 is not used yet (will be used later)
 $imageFileType holds the file extension of the file (in lower case)
 Next, check if the image file is an actual image or a fake image
Note: You will need to create a new directory called "uploads" in the directory
where "upload.php" file resides. The uploaded files will be saved there.
Check if File Already Exists

Now we can add some restrictions.
First, we will check if the file already exists in the "uploads" folder. If it does, an
error message is displayed, and $uploadOk is set to 0:
// Check if file already exists

if (file_exists($target_file)) {
echo "Sorry, file already exists.";
$uploadOk = 0;
}
Limit File Size

The file input field in our HTML form above is named "fileToUpload".
Now, we want to check the size of the file. If the file is larger than 500KB, an
error message is displayed, and $uploadOk is set to 0:
// Check file size

if ($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["size"] > 500000) {
echo "Sorry, your file is too large.";
$uploadOk = 0;
}
Limit File Type
The code below only allows users to upload JPG, JPEG, PNG, and GIF files. All
other file types gives an error message before setting $uploadOk to 0:
// Allow certain file formats

if($imageFileType != "jpg" && $imageFileType != "png" &&
$imageFileType != "jpeg"
&& $imageFileType != "gif" ) {
echo "Sorry, only JPG, JPEG, PNG & GIF files are allowed.";
$uploadOk = 0;
}
Complete Upload File PHP Script

The complete "upload.php" file now looks like this:
<?php
$target_dir = "uploads/";
$target_file = $target_dir .
basename($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["name"]);
$uploadOk = 1;
$imageFileType =strtolower(pathinfo($target_file,PATHINFO_EXTENSION));
// Check if image file is a actual image or fake image
if(isset($_POST["submit"])) {
$check = getimagesize($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["tmp_name"]);
if($check !== false) {
echo "File is an image - " . $check["mime"] . ".";
$uploadOk = 1;
} else {
echo "File is not an image.";
$uploadOk = 0;
}
}
// Check if file already exists
if (file_exists($target_file)) {
echo "Sorry, file already exists.";
$uploadOk = 0;
}
// Check file size
if ($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["size"] > 500000) {
echo "Sorry, your file is too large.";
$uploadOk = 0;
}
// Allow certain file formats
if($imageFileType != "jpg" && $imageFileType != "png"&& $imageFileType
!= "jpeg"
&& $imageFileType != "gif" ) {
echo "Sorry, only JPG, JPEG, PNG & GIF files are allowed.";
$uploadOk = 0;
}
// Check if $uploadOk is set to 0 by an error
if ($uploadOk == 0) {
echo "Sorry, your file was not uploaded.";
// if everything is ok, try to upload file
} else {
if (move_uploaded_file($_FILES["fileToUpload"]["tmp_name"],
$target_file)) {
echo "The file ".
basename( $_FILES["fileToUpload"]["name"]). " has been uploaded.";
} else {
echo "Sorry, there was an error uploading your file.";
}
}
?>
PHP 5 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.
Create Cookies With PHP

A cookie is created with the setcookie() function.
Syntax
setcookie(name, value, expire, path, domain, secure, httponly);
Only the name parameter is required. All other parameters are optional.
PHP Create/Retrieve a Cookie

The following example creates a cookie named "user" with the value "John
Doe". The cookie will expire after 30 days (86400 * 30). The "/" means that the
cookie is available in entire website (otherwise, select the directory you prefer).
We then retrieve the value of the cookie "user" (using the global variable
$_COOKIE). We also use the isset() function to find out if the cookie is set:
Example
<?php
$cookie_name = "user";
$cookie_value = "John Doe";
setcookie($cookie_name, $cookie_value, time() + (86400* 30), "/"); //
86400 = 1 day
?>
<html>
<body>
<?php
if(!isset($_COOKIE[$cookie_name])) {
echo "Cookie named '" . $cookie_name . "' is not set!";
} else {
echo "Cookie '" . $cookie_name . "' is set!<br>";
echo "Value is: " . $_COOKIE[$cookie_name];
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Note: The setcookie() function must appear BEFORE the <html> tag.
Note: The value of the cookie is automatically URLencoded when sending the
cookie, and automatically decoded when received (to prevent URLencoding,
use setrawcookie() instead).
Modify a Cookie Value

To modify a cookie, just set (again) the cookie using the setcookie() function:
Example
<?php
$cookie_name = "user";
$cookie_value = "Alex Porter";
setcookie($cookie_name, $cookie_value, time() + (86400* 30), "/");
?>
<html>
<body>
<?php
if(!isset($_COOKIE[$cookie_name])) {
echo "Cookie named '" . $cookie_name . "' is not set!";
} else {
echo "Cookie '" . $cookie_name . "' is set!<br>";
echo "Value is: " . $_COOKIE[$cookie_name];
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Delete a Cookie
To delete a cookie, use the setcookie() function with an expiration date in the
past:
Example
<?php
// set the expiration date to one hour ago
setcookie("user", "", time() - 3600);
?>
<html>
<body>
<?php
echo "Cookie 'user' is deleted.";
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Check if Cookies are Enabled
The following example creates a small script that checks whether cookies are
enabled. First, try to create a test cookie with the setcookie() function, then
count the $_COOKIE array variable:
Example
<?php
setcookie("test_cookie", "test", time() + 3600, '/');
?>
<html>
<body>
<?php
if(count($_COOKIE) > 0) {
echo "Cookies are enabled.";
} else {
echo "Cookies are disabled.";
}
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Complete PHP HTTP Reference

For a complete reference of HTTP functions, go to our completePHP HTTP
Reference.

Exercise:
Create a cookie named "username".
("username", "John", time() + (86400 * 3
PHP 5 Sessions
A session is a way to store information (in variables) to be used across

multiple pages.
Unlike a cookie, the information is not stored on the users computer.
What is a PHP Session?

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

across multiple pages (e.g. username, favorite color, etc). By default, session
variables last until the user closes the browser.
So; Session variables hold information about one single user, and are available
to all pages in one application.
Tip: If you need a permanent storage, you may want to store the data in
a database.
Start a PHP Session

A session is started with the session_start() function.
Session variables are set with the PHP global variable: $_SESSION.
Now, let's create a new page called "demo_session1.php". In this page, we start
a new PHP session and set some session variables:
Example
<?php
// Start the session
session_start();
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
// Set session variables
$_SESSION["favcolor"] = "green";
$_SESSION["favanimal"] = "cat";
echo "Session variables are set.";
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Note: The session_start() function must be the very first thing in your
document. Before any HTML tags.
Get PHP Session Variable Values

Next, we create another page called "demo_session2.php". From this page, we
will access the session information we set on the first page
("demo_session1.php").
Notice that session variables are not passed individually to each new page,
instead they are retrieved from the session we open at the beginning of each
page (session_start()).
Also notice that all session variable values are stored in the global $_SESSION
variable:
Example
<?php
session_start();
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
// Echo session variables that were set on previous page
echo "Favorite color is " . $_SESSION["favcolor"] . ".<br>";
echo "Favorite animal is " . $_SESSION["favanimal"] . ".";
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Another way to show all the session variable values for a user session is to run
the following code:
Example
<?php
session_start();
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
print_r($_SESSION);
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
How does it work? How does it know it's me?
Most sessions set a user-key on the user's computer that looks something like
this: 765487cf34ert8dede5a562e4f3a7e12. Then, when a session is opened on
another page, it scans the computer for a user-key. If there is a match, it
accesses that session, if not, it starts a new session.
Modify a PHP Session Variable
To change a session variable, just overwrite it:
Example
<?php
session_start();
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
// to change a session variable, just overwrite it
$_SESSION["favcolor"] = "yellow";
print_r($_SESSION);
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Destroy a PHP Session

To remove all global session variables and destroy the session,
use session_unset() and session_destroy():
Example
<?php
session_start();
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<?php
// remove all session variables
session_unset();
// destroy the session
session_destroy();
?>
</body>
</html>
Run example »

Exercise:
Create a session variable named "favcolor".
session_start();
["favcolor"] = "green";
PHP Filters
Validating data = Determine if the data is in proper form.
Sanitizing data = Remove any illegal character from the data.
The PHP Filter Extension

PHP filters are used to validate and sanitize external input.
The PHP filter extension has many of the functions needed for checking user
input, and is designed to make data validation easier and quicker.
The filter_list() function can be used to list what the PHP filter extension
offers:
Example
<table>
<tr>
<td>Filter Name</td>
<td>Filter ID</td>
</tr>
<?php
foreach (filter_list() as $id =>$filter) {
echo '<tr><td>' . $filter . '</td><td>' . filter_id($filter)
. '</td></tr>';
}
?>
</table>
Run example »
Why Use Filters?

Many web applications receive external input. External input/data can be:
 User input from a form

 Cookies
 Web services data
 Server variables
 Database query results
You should always validate external data!

Invalid submitted data can lead to security problems and break your webpage!
By using PHP filters you can be sure your application gets the correct input!
PHP filter_var() Function

The filter_var() function both validate and sanitize data.
The filter_var() function filters a single variable with a specified filter. It

takes two pieces of data:
 The variable you want to check

 The type of check to use
Sanitize a String
The following example uses the filter_var() function to remove all HTML tags
from a string:
Example
<?php
$str = "<h1>Hello World!</h1>";
$newstr = filter_var($str, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING);
echo $newstr;
?>
Run example »
Validate an Integer
The following example uses the filter_var() function to check if the variable
$int is an integer. If $int is an integer, the output of the code below will be:
"Integer is valid". If $int is not an integer, the output will be: "Integer is not
valid":
Example
<?php
$int = 100;
if (!filter_var($int, FILTER_VALIDATE_INT) === false) {

echo("Integer is valid");
} else {
echo("Integer is not valid");
}
?>
Run example »
Tip: filter_var() and Problem With 0

In the example above, if $int was set to 0, the function above will return
"Integer is not valid". To solve this problem, use the code below:
Example
<?php
$int = 0;
if (filter_var($int, FILTER_VALIDATE_INT) === 0 || !filter_var($int,

FILTER_VALIDATE_INT) === false) {
echo("Integer is valid");
} else {
echo("Integer is not valid");
}
?>
Run example »
Validate an IP Address
$ip is a valid IP address:
Example
<?php
$ip = "127.0.0.1";
if (!filter_var($ip, FILTER_VALIDATE_IP) === false) {

echo("$ip is a valid IP address");
} else {
echo("$ip is not a valid IP address");
}
?>
Run example »
Sanitize and Validate an Email Address

The following example uses the filter_var() function to first remove all illegal
characters from the $email variable, then check if it is a valid email address:
Example
<?php
$email = "john.doe@example.com";
// Remove all illegal characters from email

$email = filter_var($email, FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL);
// Validate e-mail
if (!filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL) === false) {
echo("$email is a valid email address");
} else {
echo("$email is not a valid email address");
}
?>
Run example »
Sanitize and Validate a URL

The following example uses the filter_var() function to first remove all illegal
characters from a URL, then check if $url is a valid URL:
Example
<?php
$url = "https://www.w3schools.com";
// Remove all illegal characters from a url

$url = filter_var($url, FILTER_SANITIZE_URL);
// Validate url
if (!filter_var($url, FILTER_VALIDATE_URL) === false) {
echo("$url is a valid URL");
} else {
echo("$url is not a valid URL");
}
?>
PHP Filters Advanced
Validate an Integer Within a Range

The following example uses the filter_var() function to check if a variable is
both of type INT, and between 1 and 200:
Example
<?php
$int = 122;
$min = 1;
$max = 200;
if (filter_var($int,
FILTER_VALIDATE_INT, array("options" => array("min_range"=>$min, "max_
range"=>$max))) === false) {
echo("Variable value is not within the legal range");
} else {
echo("Variable value is within the legal range");
}
?>
Run example »
Validate IPv6 Address

$ip is a valid IPv6 address:
Example
<?php
$ip = "2001:0db8:85a3:08d3:1319:8a2e:0370:7334";
if (!filter_var($ip, FILTER_VALIDATE_IP, FILTER_FLAG_IPV6) === false)

{
echo("$ip is a valid IPv6 address");
} else {
echo("$ip is not a valid IPv6 address");
}
?>
Run example »
Validate URL - Must Contain QueryString

$url is a URL with a querystring:
Example
<?php
$url = "https://www.w3schools.com";
if (!filter_var($url, FILTER_VALIDATE_URL, FILTER_FLAG_QUERY_REQUIRED)

=== false) {
echo("$url is a valid URL");
} else {
echo("$url is not a valid URL");
}
?>
Run example »
Remove Characters With ASCII Value > 127

The following example uses the filter_var() function to sanitize a string. It
will both remove all HTML tags, and all characters with ASCII value > 127, from
the string:
Example
<?php
$str = "<h1>Hello WorldÆØÅ!</h1>";
$newstr = filter_var($str, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING,
FILTER_FLAG_STRIP_HIGH);
echo $newstr;
?>
Run example »
PHP Error Handling
The default error handling in PHP is very simple. An error message with
filename, line number and a message describing the error is sent to the
browser.
PHP Error Handling

When creating scripts and web applications, error handling is an important part.
If your code lacks error checking code, your program may look very
unprofessional and you may be open to security risks.
This tutorial contains some of the most common error checking methods in PHP.
We will show different error handling methods:
 Simple "die()" statements

 Custom errors and error triggers
 Error reporting
Basic Error Handling: Using the die() function

The first example shows a simple script that opens a text file:
<?php
$file=fopen("welcome.txt","r");
?>
If the file does not exist you might get an error like this:
Warning: fopen(welcome.txt) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream:

No such file or directory in C:\webfolder\test.php on line 2
To prevent the user from getting an error message like the one above, we test
whether the file exist before we try to access it:
<?php
if(!file_exists("welcome.txt")) {
die("File not found");
} else {
$file=fopen("welcome.txt","r");
}
?>
Now if the file does not exist you get an error like this:
File not found
The code above is more efficient than the earlier code, because it uses a simple
error handling mechanism to stop the script after the error.
However, simply stopping the script is not always the right way to go. Let's take
a look at alternative PHP functions for handling errors.
Creating a Custom Error Handler

Creating a custom error handler is quite simple. We simply create a special
function that can be called when an error occurs in PHP.
This function must be able to handle a minimum of two parameters (error level
and error message) but can accept up to five parameters (optionally: file, line-
number, and the error context):
Syntax
error_function(error_level,error_message,
error_file,error_line,error_context)
Parameter Description
error_level Required. Specifies the error report level for
the user-defined error. Must be a value
number. See table below for possible error
report levels
error_message Required. Specifies the error message for the

user-defined error
error_file Optional. Specifies the filename in which the

error occurred
error_line Optional. Specifies the line number in which

the error occurred
error_context Optional. Specifies an array containing every

variable, and their values, in use when the
error occurred
Error Report levels

These error report levels are the different types of error the user-defined error
handler can be used for:
Value Constant Description
2 E_WARNING Non-fatal run-time errors.

Execution of the script is not
halted
8 E_NOTICE Run-time notices. The script found
something that might be an error,
but could also happen when
running a script normally
256 E_USER_ERROR Fatal user-generated error. This is

like an E_ERROR set by the
programmer using the PHP
function trigger_error()
512 E_USER_WARNING Non-fatal user-generated warning.

This is like an E_WARNING set
by the programmer using the PHP
1024 E_USER_NOTICE User-generated notice. This is like

an E_NOTICE set by the
programmer using the PHP
4096 E_RECOVERABLE_ERROR Catchable fatal error. This is like

an E_ERROR but can be caught
by a user defined handle (see also
set_error_handler())
8191 E_ALL All errors and warnings

(E_STRICT became a part of
E_ALL in PHP 5.4)
Now lets create a function to handle errors:
function customError($errno, $errstr) {

echo "<b>Error:</b> [$errno] $errstr<br>";
echo "Ending Script";
die();
}
The code above is a simple error handling function. When it is triggered, it gets
the error level and an error message. It then outputs the error level and
message and terminates the script.
Now that we have created an error handling function we need to decide when it
should be triggered.
Set Error Handler

The default error handler for PHP is the built in error handler. We are going to
make the function above the default error handler for the duration of the script.
It is possible to change the error handler to apply for only some errors, that
way the script can handle different errors in different ways. However, in this
example we are going to use our custom error handler for all errors:
set_error_handler("customError");
Since we want our custom function to handle all errors,

the set_error_handler() only needed one parameter, a second parameter
could be added to specify an error level.
Example
Testing the error handler by trying to output variable that does not exist:
<?php
//error handler function
echo "<b>Error:</b> [$errno] $errstr";
}
//set error handler

set_error_handler("customError");
//trigger error
echo($test);
?>
The output of the code above should be something like this:
Error: [8] Undefined variable: test
Trigger an Error
In a script where users can input data it is useful to trigger errors when an
illegal input occurs. In PHP, this is done by the trigger_error() function.
Example
In this example an error occurs if the "test" variable is bigger than "1":
<?php
$test=2;
if ($test>=1) {
trigger_error("Value must be 1 or below");
}
?>
Notice: Value must be 1 or below

in C:\webfolder\test.php on line 6
An error can be triggered anywhere you wish in a script, and by adding a

second parameter, you can specify what error level is triggered.
Possible error types:
 E_USER_ERROR - Fatal user-generated run-time error. Errors that can

not be recovered from. Execution of the script is halted
 E_USER_WARNING - Non-fatal user-generated run-time warning.
Execution of the script is not halted
 E_USER_NOTICE - Default. User-generated run-time notice. The script
found something that might be an error, but could also happen when
running a script normally
Example
In this example an E_USER_WARNING occurs if the "test" variable is bigger
than "1". If an E_USER_WARNING occurs we will use our custom error handler
and end the script:
<?php
echo "Ending Script";
die();
}
//set error handler

set_error_handler("customError",E_USER_WARNING);
//trigger error
$test=2;
if ($test>=1) {
trigger_error("Value must be 1 or below",E_USER_WARNING);
}
?>
Error: [512] Value must be 1 or below

Ending Script
Now that we have learned to create our own errors and how to trigger them,
lets take a look at error logging.
Error Logging
By default, PHP sends an error log to the server's logging system or a file,
depending on how the error_log configuration is set in the php.ini file. By using
the error_log() function you can send error logs to a specified file or a remote
destination.
Sending error messages to yourself by e-mail can be a good way of getting

notified of specific errors.
Send an Error Message by E-Mail
In the example below we will send an e-mail with an error message and end the
script, if a specific error occurs:
<?php
echo "Webmaster has been notified";
error_log("Error: [$errno] $errstr",1,
"someone@example.com","From: webmaster@example.com");
}
//set error handler

set_error_handler("customError",E_USER_WARNING);
//trigger error
$test=2;
if ($test>=1) {
trigger_error("Value must be 1 or below",E_USER_WARNING);
}
?>

Webmaster has been notified
And the mail received from the code above looks like this:
This should not be used with all errors. Regular errors should be logged on the
server using the default PHP logging system.
PHP Exception Handling
Exceptions are used to change the normal flow of a script if a specified error
occurs.
What is an Exception
With PHP 5 came a new object oriented way of dealing with errors.
Exception handling is used to change the normal flow of the code execution if a
specified error (exceptional) condition occurs. This condition is called an
exception.
This is what normally happens when an exception is triggered:
 The current code state is saved

 The code execution will switch to a predefined (custom) exception handler
function
 Depending on the situation, the handler may then resume the execution
from the saved code state, terminate the script execution or continue the
script from a different location in the code
We will show different error handling methods:
 Basic use of Exceptions

 Creating a custom exception handler
 Multiple exceptions
 Re-throwing an exception
 Setting a top level exception handler
Note: Exceptions should only be used with error conditions, and should not be
used to jump to another place in the code at a specified point.
Basic Use of Exceptions

When an exception is thrown, the code following it will not be executed, and
PHP will try to find the matching "catch" block.
If an exception is not caught, a fatal error will be issued with an "Uncaught

Exception" message.
Lets try to throw an exception without catching it:
<?php
//create function with an exception
function checkNum($number) {
if($number>1) {
throw new Exception("Value must be 1 or below");
}
return true;
}
//trigger exception
checkNum(2);
?>
The code above will get an error like this:
Fatal error: Uncaught exception 'Exception'

with message 'Value must be 1 or below' in C:\webfolder\test.php:6
Stack trace: #0 C:\webfolder\test.php(12):
checkNum(28) #1 {main} thrown in C:\webfolder\test.phpon line 6
Try, throw and catch

To avoid the error from the example above, we need to create the proper code
to handle an exception.
Proper exception code should include:
1. try - A function using an exception should be in a "try" block. If the

exception does not trigger, the code will continue as normal. However if
the exception triggers, an exception is "thrown"
2. throw - This is how you trigger an exception. Each "throw" must have at
least one "catch"
3. catch - A "catch" block retrieves an exception and creates an object
containing the exception information
Lets try to trigger an exception with valid code:

<?php
//create function with an exception
function checkNum($number) {
if($number>1) {
throw new Exception("Value must be 1 or below");
}
return true;
}
//trigger exception in a "try" block

try {
checkNum(2);
//If the exception is thrown, this text will not be shown
echo 'If you see this, the number is 1 or below';
}
//catch exception
catch(Exception $e) {
echo 'Message: ' .$e->getMessage();
}
?>
The code above will get an error like this:
Message: Value must be 1 or below
Example explained:
The code above throws an exception and catches it:
1. The checkNum() function is created. It checks if a number is greater than

1. If it is, an exception is thrown
2. The checkNum() function is called in a "try" block
3. The exception within the checkNum() function is thrown
4. The "catch" block retrieves the exception and creates an object ($e)
containing the exception information
5. The error message from the exception is echoed by calling $e-
>getMessage() from the exception object
However, one way to get around the "every throw must have a catch" rule is to
set a top level exception handler to handle errors that slip through.
Creating a Custom Exception Class
To create a custom exception handler you must create a special class with
functions that can be called when an exception occurs in PHP. The class must be
an extension of the exception class.
The custom exception class inherits the properties from PHP's exception class
and you can add custom functions to it.
Lets create an exception class:
<?php
class customException extends Exception {
public function errorMessage() {
//error message
$errorMsg = 'Error on line '.$this->getLine().' in '.$this-
>getFile()
.': <b>'.$this->getMessage().'</b> is not a valid E-Mail address';
return $errorMsg;
}
}
$email = "someone@example...com";
try {
//check if
if(filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL) === FALSE) {
//throw exception if email is not valid
throw new customException($email);
}
}
catch (customException $e) {

//display custom message
echo $e->errorMessage();
}
?>
The new class is a copy of the old exception class with an addition of the
errorMessage() function. Since it is a copy of the old class, and it inherits the
properties and methods from the old class, we can use the exception class
methods like getLine() and getFile() and getMessage().
Example explained:
The code above throws an exception and catches it with a custom exception
class:
1. The customException() class is created as an extension of the old

exception class. This way it inherits all methods and properties from the
old exception class
2. The errorMessage() function is created. This function returns an error
message if an e-mail address is invalid
3. The $email variable is set to a string that is not a valid e-mail address
4. The "try" block is executed and an exception is thrown since the e-mail
address is invalid
5. The "catch" block catches the exception and displays the error message
Multiple Exceptions
It is possible for a script to use multiple exceptions to check for multiple
conditions.
It is possible to use several if..else blocks, a switch, or nest multiple exceptions.

These exceptions can use different exception classes and return different error
messages:
<?php
//error message
$errorMsg = 'Error on line '.$this->getLine().' in '.$this-
>getFile()
.': <b>'.$this->getMessage().'</b> is not a valid E-Mail address';
return $errorMsg;
}
}
$email = "someone@example.com";
try {
//check if
if(filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL) === FALSE) {
}
//check for "example" in mail address
if(strpos($email, "example") !== FALSE) {
throw new Exception("$email is an example e-mail");
}
}

}
echo $e->getMessage();
}
?>
Example explained:
The code above tests two conditions and throws an exception if any of the
conditions are not met:

old exception class
3. The $email variable is set to a string that is a valid e-mail address, but
contains the string "example"
4. The "try" block is executed and an exception is not thrown on the first
condition
5. The second condition triggers an exception since the e-mail contains the
string "example"
6. The "catch" block catches the exception and displays the correct error
message
If the exception thrown were of the class customException and there were no
customException catch, only the base exception catch, the exception would be
handled there.
Re-throwing Exceptions
Sometimes, when an exception is thrown, you may wish to handle it differently
than the standard way. It is possible to throw an exception a second time within
a "catch" block.
A script should hide system errors from users. System errors may be important
for the coder, but are of no interest to the user. To make things easier for the
user you can re-throw the exception with a user friendly message:
<?php
//error message
$errorMsg = $this->getMessage().' is not a valid E-Mail address.';
return $errorMsg;
}
}
$email = "someone@example.com";
try {
try {
//check for "example" in mail address
if(strpos($email, "example") !== FALSE) {
throw new Exception($email);
}
}
//re-throw exception
}
}

//display custom message
}
?>
Example explained:
The code above tests if the email-address contains the string "example" in it, if
it does, the exception is re-thrown:
old exception class
3. The $email variable is set to a string that is a valid e-mail address, but
contains the string "example"
4. The "try" block contains another "try" block to make it possible to re-
throw the exception
5. The exception is triggered since the e-mail contains the string "example"
6. The "catch" block catches the exception and re-throws a
"customException"
7. The "customException" is caught and displays an error message
If the exception is not caught in its current "try" block, it will search for a catch
block on "higher levels".
Set a Top Level Exception Handler

The set_exception_handler() function sets a user-defined function to handle
all uncaught exceptions:
<?php
function myException($exception) {
echo "<b>Exception:</b> " . $exception->getMessage();
}
set_exception_handler('myException');
throw new Exception('Uncaught Exception occurred');

?>
Exception: Uncaught Exception occurred
In the code above there was no "catch" block. Instead, the top level exception
handler triggered. This function should be used to catch uncaught exceptions.
Rules for exceptions
 Code may be surrounded in a try block, to help catch potential exceptions
 Each try block or "throw" must have at least one corresponding catch
block
 Multiple catch blocks can be used to catch different classes of exceptions
 Exceptions can be thrown (or re-thrown) in a catch block within a try
block
A simple rule: If you throw something, you have to catch it.

PHP MySQL Database
With PHP, you can connect to and manipulate databases.
MySQL is the most popular database system used with PHP.
What is MySQL?
 MySQL is a database system used on the web
 MySQL is a database system that runs on a server
 MySQL is ideal for both small and large applications
 MySQL is very fast, reliable, and easy to use
 MySQL uses standard SQL
 MySQL compiles on a number of platforms
 MySQL is free to download and use
 MySQL is developed, distributed, and supported by Oracle Corporation
 MySQL is named after co-founder Monty Widenius's daughter: My
The data in a MySQL database are stored in tables. A table is a collection of

related data, and it consists of columns and rows.
Databases are useful for storing information categorically. A company may have
a database with the following tables:
 Employees
 Products
 Customers
 Orders
PHP + MySQL Database System

 PHP combined with MySQL are cross-platform (you can develop in
Windows and serve on a Unix platform)
Database Queries
A query is a question or a request.
We can query a database for specific information and have a recordset

returned.
Look at the following query (using standard SQL):
SELECT LastName FROM Employees
The query above selects all the data in the "LastName" column from the
"Employees" table.
To learn more about SQL, please visit our SQL tutorial.
Download MySQL Database

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

MySQL is the de-facto standard database system for web sites with HUGE
volumes of both data and end-users (like Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia).
Another great thing about MySQL is that it can be scaled down to support
embedded database applications.
Look at http://www.mysql.com/customers/ for an overview of companies using

MySQL.
PHP Connect to MySQL
PHP 5 and later can work with a MySQL database using:
 MySQLi extension (the "i" stands for improved)

 PDO (PHP Data Objects)
Earlier versions of PHP used the MySQL extension. However, this extension
was deprecated in 2012.
Should I Use MySQLi or PDO?

If you need a short answer, it would be "Whatever you like".
Both MySQLi and PDO have their advantages:
PDO will work on 12 different database systems, whereas MySQLi will only work
with MySQL databases.
So, if you have to switch your project to use another database, PDO makes the
process easy. You only have to change the connection string and a few queries.
With MySQLi, you will need to rewrite the entire code - queries included.
Both are object-oriented, but MySQLi also offers a procedural API.
Both support Prepared Statements. Prepared Statements protect from SQL

injection, and are very important for web application security.
MySQL Examples in Both MySQLi and PDO

Syntax
In this, and in the following chapters we demonstrate three ways of working
with PHP and MySQL:
 MySQLi (object-oriented)
 MySQLi (procedural)
 PDO
MySQLi Installation
For Linux and Windows: The MySQLi extension is automatically installed in most
cases, when php5 mysql package is installed.
For installation details, go to:http://php.net/manual/en/mysqli.installation.php
PDO Installation
For installation details, go to:http://php.net/manual/en/pdo.installation.php
Open a Connection to MySQL

Before we can access data in the MySQL database, we need to be able to
connect to the server:
Example (MySQLi Object-Oriented)

<?php
$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
// Create connection
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password);
// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}
echo "Connected successfully";
?>
PHP is an amazing and popular language!
Note on the object-oriented example above: $connect_error was broken until

PHP 5.2.9 and 5.3.0. If you need to ensure compatibility with PHP versions prior
to 5.2.9 and 5.3.0, use the following code instead:
// Check connection
if (mysqli_connect_error()) {
die("Database connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());
}
Example (MySQLi Procedural)

<?php
$conn = mysqli_connect($servername, $username, $password);
// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
die("Connection failed: " . mysqli_connect_error());
}
?>
Example (PDO)
<?php
try {
$conn = newPDO("mysql:host=$servername;dbname=myDB", $username,
$password);
// set the PDO error mode to exception
$conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
}
catch(PDOException $e)
{
echo "Connection failed: " . $e->getMessage();
}
?>
Note: In the PDO example above we have also specified a database

(myDB). PDO require a valid database to connect to. If no database is
specified, an exception is thrown.
Tip: A great benefit of PDO is that it has an exception class to handle any
problems that may occur in our database queries. If an exception is thrown
within the try{ } block, the script stops executing and flows directly to the first
catch(){ } block.
Close the Connection

The connection will be closed automatically when the script ends. To close the
connection before, use the following:
Example (MySQLi Object-Oriented)

$conn->close();

mysqli_close($conn);
Example (PDO)
$conn = null;
PHP Create a MySQL Database
A database consists of one or more tables.
You will need special CREATE privileges to create or to delete a MySQL

database.
Create a MySQL Database Using MySQLi and

PDO
The CREATE DATABASE statement is used to create a database in MySQL.
The following examples create a database named "myDB":
Example (MySQLi Object-oriented)

<?php
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password);
// Check connection
}
// Create database
$sql = "CREATE DATABASE myDB";
if ($conn->query($sql) === TRUE) {
echo "Database created successfully";
} else {
echo "Error creating database: " . $conn->error;
}
$conn->close();
?>
Note: When you create a new database, you must only specify the first three
arguments to the mysqli object (servername, username and password).
Tip: If you have to use a specific port, add an empty string for the database-
name argument, like this: new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "",
port)

<?php
$conn = mysqli_connect($servername, $username, $password);
// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
}
// Create database
$sql = "CREATE DATABASE myDB";
if (mysqli_query($conn, $sql)) {
echo "Database created successfully";
} else {
echo "Error creating database: " . mysqli_error($conn);
}
?>
Note: The following PDO example create a database named "myDBPDO":
Example (PDO)
<?php
try {
$conn = new PDO("mysql:host=$servername", $username, $password);
$sql = "CREATE DATABASE myDBPDO";
// use exec() because no results are returned
$conn->exec($sql);
echo "Database created successfully<br>";
}
{
echo $sql . "<br>" . $e->getMessage();
}
$conn = null;
?>
Tip: A great benefit of PDO is that it has exception class to handle any problems
that may occur in our database queries. If an exception is thrown within the
try{ } block, the script stops executing and flows directly to the first catch(){ }
block. In the catch block above we echo the SQL statement and the generated
error message.
PHP Create MySQL Tables
A database table has its own unique name and consists of columns and
rows.
Create a MySQL Table Using MySQLi and PDO

The CREATE TABLE statement is used to create a table in MySQL.
We will create a table named "MyGuests", with five columns: "id", "firstname",
"lastname", "email" and "reg_date":
CREATE TABLE MyGuests (

id INT(6) UNSIGNED AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
firstname VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL,
lastname VARCHAR(30) NOT NULL,
email VARCHAR(50),
reg_date TIMESTAMP
)
Notes on the table above:
The data type specifies what type of data the column can hold. For a complete
reference of all the available data types, go to our Data Types reference.
After the data type, you can specify other optional attributes for each column:
 NOT NULL - Each row must contain a value for that column, null values
are not allowed
 DEFAULT value - Set a default value that is added when no other value is
passed
 UNSIGNED - Used for number types, limits the stored data to positive
numbers and zero
 AUTO INCREMENT - MySQL automatically increases the value of the field
by 1 each time a new record is added
 PRIMARY KEY - Used to uniquely identify the rows in a table. The column
with PRIMARY KEY setting is often an ID number, and is often used with
AUTO_INCREMENT
Each table should have a primary key column (in this case: the "id" column). Its
value must be unique for each record in the table.
The following examples shows how to create the table in PHP:

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);
// Check connection
}
// sql to create table

$sql = "CREATE TABLE MyGuests (
email VARCHAR(50),
reg_date TIMESTAMP
)";

echo "Table MyGuests created successfully";
} else {
echo "Error creating table: " . $conn->error;
}
$conn->close();
?>
<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
$conn = mysqli_connect($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);
// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
}

email VARCHAR(50),
reg_date TIMESTAMP
)";
} else {
echo "Error creating table: " . mysqli_error($conn);
}
?>
Example (PDO)
<?php
$dbname = "myDBPDO";
try {
$conn = newPDO("mysql:host=$servername;dbname=$dbname", $username,
$password);

email VARCHAR(50),
reg_date TIMESTAMP
)";

$conn->exec($sql);
}
{
}
$conn = null;
?>
PHP Insert Data Into MySQL
Insert Data Into MySQL Using MySQLi and

PDO
After a database and a table have been created, we can start adding data in
them.
Here are some syntax rules to follow:
 The SQL query must be quoted in PHP

 String values inside the SQL query must be quoted
 Numeric values must not be quoted
 The word NULL must not be quoted
The INSERT INTO statement is used to add new records to a MySQL table:
INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, column3,...)

VALUES (value1, value2, value3,...)
In the previous chapter we created an empty table named "MyGuests" with five
columns: "id", "firstname", "lastname", "email" and "reg_date". Now, let us fill
the table with data.
Note: If a column is AUTO_INCREMENT (like the "id" column) or TIMESTAMP

(like the "reg_date" column), it is no need to be specified in the SQL query;
MySQL will automatically add the value.
The following examples add a new record to the "MyGuests" table:

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
}
$sql = "INSERT INTO MyGuests (firstname, lastname, email)

VALUES ('John', 'Doe', 'john@example.com')";

echo "New record created successfully";
} else {
echo "Error: " . $sql . "<br>" . $conn->error;
}
$conn->close();
?>

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
}

} else {
echo "Error: " . $sql . "<br>" . mysqli_error($conn);
}
?>
Example (PDO)
<?php
try {
$password);
$conn->exec($sql);
}
{
}
$conn = null;
?>
PHP Get ID of Last Inserted Record
Get ID of The Last Inserted Record

If we perform an INSERT or UPDATE on a table with an AUTO_INCREMENT field,
we can get the ID of the last inserted/updated record immediately.
In the table "MyGuests", the "id" column is an AUTO_INCREMENT field:
CREATE TABLE MyGuests (

email VARCHAR(50),
reg_date TIMESTAMP
)
The following examples are equal to the examples from the previous page (PHP
Insert Data Into MySQL), except that we have added one single line of code to
retrieve the ID of the last inserted record. We also echo the last inserted ID:

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
}

$last_id = $conn->insert_id;
echo "New record created successfully. Last inserted ID is: " .
$last_id;
} else {
}
$conn->close();
?>

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
}

$last_id = mysqli_insert_id($conn);
$last_id;
} else {
}
?>
Example (PDO)
<?php
try {
$password);
$conn->exec($sql);
$last_id = $conn->lastInsertId();
$last_id;
}
{
}
$conn = null;
?>
PHP Insert Multiple Records Into
MySQL
Insert Multiple Records Into MySQL Using

MySQLi and PDO
Multiple SQL statements must be executed with
the mysqli_multi_query() function.
The following examples add three new records to the "MyGuests" table:

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
}

VALUES ('John', 'Doe', 'john@example.com');";
$sql .= "INSERT INTO MyGuests (firstname, lastname, email)
VALUES ('Mary', 'Moe', 'mary@example.com');";
VALUES ('Julie', 'Dooley', 'julie@example.com')";
if ($conn->multi_query($sql) === TRUE) {

echo "New records created successfully";
} else {
}
$conn->close();
?>
Note that each SQL statement must be separated by a semicolon.

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
}

VALUES ('John', 'Doe', 'john@example.com');";
VALUES ('Mary', 'Moe', 'mary@example.com');";
VALUES ('Julie', 'Dooley', 'julie@example.com')";
if (mysqli_multi_query($conn, $sql)) {
} else {
}
?>
The PDO way is a little bit different:
Example (PDO)
<?php
try {
$password);
// begin the transaction

$conn->beginTransaction();
// our SQL statements
$conn->exec("INSERT INTO MyGuests (firstname, lastname, email)
VALUES ('John', 'Doe', 'john@example.com')");
VALUES ('Mary', 'Moe', 'mary@example.com')");
VALUES ('Julie', 'Dooley', 'julie@example.com')");
// commit the transaction

$conn->commit();
}
{
// roll back the transaction if something failed
$conn->rollback();
echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage();
}
$conn = null;
?>
PHP Prepared Statements
Prepared statements are very useful against SQL injections.
Prepared Statements and Bound Parameters

A prepared statement is a feature used to execute the same (or similar) SQL
statements repeatedly with high efficiency.
Prepared statements basically work like this:
1. Prepare: An SQL statement template is created and sent to the database.

Certain values are left unspecified, called parameters (labeled "?").
Example: INSERT INTO MyGuests VALUES(?, ?, ?)
2. The database parses, compiles, and performs query optimization on the
SQL statement template, and stores the result without executing it
3. Execute: At a later time, the application binds the values to the
parameters, and the database executes the statement. The application
may execute the statement as many times as it wants with different
values
Compared to executing SQL statements directly, prepared statements have

three main advantages:
 Prepared statements reduce parsing time as the preparation on the query

is done only once (although the statement is executed multiple times)
 Bound parameters minimize bandwidth to the server as you need send
only the parameters each time, and not the whole query
 Prepared statements are very useful against SQL injections, because
parameter values, which are transmitted later using a different protocol,
need not be correctly escaped. If the original statement template is not
derived from external input, SQL injection cannot occur.
Prepared Statements in MySQLi

The following example uses prepared statements and bound parameters in
MySQLi:
Example (MySQLi with Prepared Statements)

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
}
// prepare and bind

$stmt = $conn->prepare("INSERT INTO MyGuests (firstname, lastname,
email) VALUES (?, ?, ?)");
$stmt->bind_param("sss", $firstname, $lastname, $email);
// set parameters and execute

$firstname = "John";
$lastname = "Doe";
$email = "john@example.com";
$stmt->execute();
$firstname = "Mary";
$lastname = "Moe";
$email = "mary@example.com";
$stmt->execute();
$firstname = "Julie";
$lastname = "Dooley";
$email = "julie@example.com";
$stmt->execute();
$stmt->close();
$conn->close();
?>
Code lines to explain from the example above:
"INSERT INTO MyGuests (firstname, lastname, email) VALUES (?, ?, ?)"
In our SQL, we insert a question mark (?) where we want to substitute in an

integer, string, double or blob value.
Then, have a look at the bind_param() function:
$stmt->bind_param("sss", $firstname, $lastname, $email);
This function binds the parameters to the SQL query and tells the database
what the parameters are. The "sss" argument lists the types of data that the
parameters are. The s character tells mysql that the parameter is a string.
The argument may be one of four types:
 i - integer
 d - double
 s - string
 b - BLOB
We must have one of these for each parameter.
By telling mysql what type of data to expect, we minimize the risk of SQL
injections.
Note: If we want to insert any data from external sources (like user input), it is
very important that the data is sanitized and validated.
Prepared Statements in PDO

The following example uses prepared statements and bound parameters in
PDO:
Example (PDO with Prepared Statements)

<?php
try {
$password);
// prepare sql and bind parameters

$stmt = $conn->prepare("INSERT INTO MyGuests (firstname, lastname,
email)
VALUES (:firstname, :lastname, :email)");
$stmt->bindParam(':firstname', $firstname);
$stmt->bindParam(':lastname', $lastname);
$stmt->bindParam(':email', $email);
// insert a row
$firstname = "John";
$lastname = "Doe";
$email = "john@example.com";
$stmt->execute();
// insert another row

$firstname = "Mary";
$lastname = "Moe";
$email = "mary@example.com";
$stmt->execute();
// insert another row

$firstname = "Julie";
$lastname = "Dooley";
$email = "julie@example.com";
$stmt->execute();

}
{
}
$conn = null;
?>
PHP Select Data From MySQL
Select Data From a MySQL Database

The SELECT statement is used to select data from one or more tables:
SELECT column_name(s) FROM table_name
or we can use the * character to select ALL columns from a table:
SELECT * FROM table_name
Select Data With MySQLi

The following example selects the id, firstname and lastname columns from the
MyGuests table and displays it on the page:

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
}
$sql = "SELECT id, firstname, lastname FROM MyGuests";

$result = $conn->query($sql);
if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
// output data of each row
while($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
echo "id: " . $row["id"]. " - Name: " . $row["firstname"]. "
" . $row["lastname"]. "<br>";
}
} else {
echo "0 results";
}
$conn->close();
?>
Run example »
Code lines to explain from the example above:
First, we set up an SQL query that selects the id, firstname and lastname
columns from the MyGuests table. The next line of code runs the query and puts
the resulting data into a variable called $result.
Then, the function num_rows() checks if there are more than zero rows
returned.
If there are more than zero rows returned, the function fetch_assoc() puts all
the results into an associative array that we can loop through. The while() loop
loops through the result set and outputs the data from the id, firstname and
lastname columns.
The following example shows the same as the example above, in the MySQLi
procedural way:

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
}
$result = mysqli_query($conn, $sql);
if (mysqli_num_rows($result) > 0) {
while($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {
echo "id: " . $row["id"]. " - Name: " . $row["firstname"]. "
" . $row["lastname"]. "<br>";
}
} else {
echo "0 results";
}
?>
Run example »
You can also put the result in an HTML table:

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
}

$result = $conn->query($sql);
if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
echo "<table><tr><th>ID</th><th>Name</th></tr>";
while($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
echo "<tr><td>".$row["id"]."</td><td>".$row["firstname"]."
".$row["lastname"]."</td></tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
} else {
echo "0 results";
}
$conn->close();
?>
Run example »
Select Data With PDO (+ Prepared Statements)

The following example uses prepared statements.
It selects the id, firstname and lastname columns from the MyGuests table and
displays it in an HTML table:
Example (PDO)
<?php
echo "<table style='border: solid 1px black;'>";
echo "<tr><th>Id</th><th>Firstname</th><th>Lastname</th></tr>";
class TableRows extends RecursiveIteratorIterator {

function __construct($it) {
parent::__construct($it, self::LEAVES_ONLY);
}
function current() {
return "<td style='width:150px;border:1px solid black;'>" .
parent::current(). "</td>";
}
function beginChildren() {
echo "<tr>";
}
function endChildren() {
echo "</tr>" . "\n";
}
}
try {
$password);
$stmt = $conn->prepare("SELECT id, firstname, lastname FROM
MyGuests");
$stmt->execute();
// set the resulting array to associative

$result = $stmt->setFetchMode(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
foreach(new TableRows(newRecursiveArrayIterator($stmt-
>fetchAll())) as $k=>$v) {
echo $v;
}
}
catch(PDOException $e) {
}
$conn = null;
echo "</table>";
?>
PHP Delete Data From MySQL
Delete Data From a MySQL Table Using

MySQLi and PDO
The DELETE statement is used to delete records from a table:
DELETE FROM table_name

WHERE some_column = some_value
Notice the WHERE clause in the DELETE syntax: The WHERE clause
specifies which record or records that should be deleted. If you omit the WHERE
clause, all records will be deleted!
Let's look at the "MyGuests" table:
id firstname lastname email reg_date
1 John Doe john@example.com 2014-10-22 14:26:15
2 Mary Moe mary@example.com 2014-10-23 10:22:30
3 Julie Dooley julie@example.com 2014-10-26 10:48:23
The following examples delete the record with id=3 in the "MyGuests" table:
<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
}
// sql to delete a record

$sql = "DELETE FROM MyGuests WHERE id=3";

echo "Record deleted successfully";
} else {
echo "Error deleting record: " . $conn->error;
}
$conn->close();
?>

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
}

} else {
echo "Error deleting record: " . mysqli_error($conn);
}
?>
Example (PDO)
<?php
try {
$password);


$conn->exec($sql);
}
{
}
$conn = null;
?>
After the record is deleted, the table will look like this:

PHP Update Data in MySQL
Update Data In a MySQL Table Using MySQLi

and PDO
The UPDATE statement is used to update existing records in a table:
UPDATE table_name
SET column1=value, column2=value2,...
WHERE some_column=some_value
Notice the WHERE clause in the UPDATE syntax: The WHERE clause
specifies which record or records that should be updated. If you omit the
WHERE clause, all records will be updated!
Let's look at the "MyGuests" table:
The following examples update the record with id=2 in the "MyGuests" table:

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
}
$sql = "UPDATE MyGuests SET lastname='Doe' WHERE id=2";

echo "Record updated successfully";
} else {
echo "Error updating record: " . $conn->error;
}
$conn->close();
?>

<?php
$dbname = "myDB";
// Check connection
if (!$conn) {
}
echo "Record updated successfully";
} else {
echo "Error updating record: " . mysqli_error($conn);
}
?>
Example (PDO)
<?php
try {
$password);
// Prepare statement
$stmt = $conn->prepare($sql);
// execute the query

$stmt->execute();
// echo a message to say the UPDATE succeeded

echo $stmt->rowCount() . " records UPDATED successfully";
}
{
}
$conn = null;
?>
After the record is updated, the table will look like this:
2 Mary Doe mary@example.com 2014-10-23 10:22:30

PHP Limit Data Selections From MySQL
Limit Data Selections From a MySQL Database

MySQL provides a LIMIT clause that is used to specify the number of records to
return.
The LIMIT clause makes it easy to code multi page results or pagination with
SQL, and is very useful on large tables. Returning a large number of records can
impact on performance.
Assume we wish to select all records from 1 - 30 (inclusive) from a table called
"Orders". The SQL query would then look like this:
$sql = "SELECT * FROM Orders LIMIT 30";
When the SQL query above is run, it will return the first 30 records.
What if we want to select records 16 - 25 (inclusive)?
Mysql also provides a way to handle this: by using OFFSET.
The SQL query below says "return only 10 records, start on record 16 (OFFSET
15)":
$sql = "SELECT * FROM Orders LIMIT 10 OFFSET 15";
You could also use a shorter syntax to achieve the same result:
$sql = "SELECT * FROM Orders LIMIT 15, 10";
Notice that the numbers are reversed when you use a comma.
PHP XML Parsers
What is XML?
The XML language is a way to structure data for sharing across websites.
Several web technologies like RSS Feeds and Podcasts are written in XML.
XML is easy to create. It looks a lot like HTML, except that you make up your
own tags.
If you want to learn more about XML, please visit our XML tutorial.
What is an XML Parser?

To read and update, create and manipulate an XML document, you will need an
XML parser.
In PHP there are two major types of XML parsers:
 Tree-Based Parsers
 Event-Based Parsers
Tree-Based Parsers
Tree-based parsers holds the entire document in Memory and transforms the
XML document into a Tree structure. It analyzes the whole document, and
provides access to the Tree elements (DOM).
This type of parser is a better option for smaller XML documents, but not for
large XML document as it causes major performance issues.
Example of tree-based parsers:

 SimpleXML
 DOM
Event-Based Parsers
Event-based parsers do not hold the entire document in Memory, instead, they
read in one node at a time and allow you to interact with in real time. Once you
move onto the next node, the old one is thrown away.
This type of parser is well suited for large XML documents. It parses faster and
consumes less memory.
Example of event-based parsers:
 XMLReader
 XML Expat Parser
PHP SimpleXML Parser
SimpleXML is a PHP extension that allows us to easily manipulate and get

XML data.
The SimpleXML Parser

SimpleXML is a tree-based parser.
SimpleXML provides an easy way of getting an element's name, attributes and

textual content if you know the XML document's structure or layout.
SimpleXML turns an XML document into a data structure you can iterate
through like a collection of arrays and objects.
Compared to DOM or the Expat parser, SimpleXML takes a fewer lines of code
to read text data from an element.
Installation
As of PHP 5, the SimpleXML functions are part of the PHP core. No installation is
required to use these functions.
PHP SimpleXML - Read From String

The PHP simplexml_load_string() function is used to read XML data from a
string.
Assume we have a variable that contains XML data, like this:

$myXMLData =
"<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>";
The example below shows how to use the simplexml_load_string() function

to read XML data from a string:
Example
<?php
$myXMLData =
<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
</note>";
$xml=simplexml_load_string($myXMLData) or die("Error: Cannot create

object");
print_r($xml);
?>
Run example »
The output of the code above will be:
SimpleXMLElement Object ( [to] => Tove [from] => Jani [heading] =>
Reminder [body] => Don't forget me this weekend! )
Error Handling Tip: Use the libxml functionality to retrieve all XML errors when
loading the document and then iterate over the errors. The following example
tries to load a broken XML string:
Example
<?php
libxml_use_internal_errors(true);
$myXMLData =
<document>
<user>John Doe</wronguser>
<email>john@example.com</wrongemail>
</document>";
$xml = simplexml_load_string($myXMLData);
if ($xml === false) {
echo "Failed loading XML: ";
foreach(libxml_get_errors() as $error) {
echo "<br>", $error->message;
}
} else {
print_r($xml);
}
?>
Run example »
Failed loading XML:

Opening and ending tag mismatch: user line 3 and wronguser
Opening and ending tag mismatch: email line 4 and wrongemail
PHP SimpleXML - Read From File

The PHP simplexml_load_file() function is used to read XML data from a file.
Assume we have an XML file called "note.xml", that looks like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
</note>
The example below shows how to use the simplexml_load_file() function to

read XML data from a file:
Example
<?php
$xml=simplexml_load_file("note.xml") or die("Error: Cannot create
object");
print_r($xml);
?>
Run example »
SimpleXMLElement Object ( [to] => Tove [from] => Jani [heading] =>
Reminder [body] => Don't forget me this weekend! )
Tip: The next chapter shows how to get/retrieve node values from an XML file
with SimpleXML!
More PHP SimpleXML

For more information about the PHP SimpleXML functions, visit ourPHP
SimpleXML Reference.
PHP SimpleXML - Get Node/Attribute
Values
SimpleXML is a PHP extension that allows us to easily manipulate and get

XML data.
PHP SimpleXML - Get Node Values

Get the node values from the "note.xml" file:
Example
<?php
$xml=simplexml_load_file("note.xml") or die("Error: Cannot create
object");
echo $xml->to . "<br>";
echo $xml->from . "<br>";
echo $xml->heading . "<br>";
echo $xml->body;
?>
Run example »
Tove
Jani
Reminder
Don't forget me this weekend!
Another XML File

Assume we have an XML file called "books.xml", that looks like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<bookstore>
<book category="COOKING">
<title lang="en">Everyday Italian</title>
<author>Giada De Laurentiis</author>
<year>2005</year>
<price>30.00</price>
</book>
<book category="CHILDREN">
<title lang="en">Harry Potter</title>
<author>J K. Rowling</author>
<year>2005</year>
</book>
<book category="WEB">
<title lang="en-us">XQuery Kick Start</title>
<author>James McGovern</author>
<year>2003</year>
</book>
<book category="WEB">
<title lang="en-us">Learning XML</title>
<author>Erik T. Ray</author>
<year>2003</year>
</book>
</bookstore>
PHP SimpleXML - Get Node Values of Specific

Elements
The following example gets the node value of the <title> element in the first
and second <book> elements in the "books.xml" file:
Example
<?php
$xml=simplexml_load_file("books.xml") or die("Error: Cannot create
object");
echo $xml->book[0]->title . "<br>";
echo $xml->book[1]->title;
?>
Run example »
Everyday Italian
Harry Potter
PHP SimpleXML - Get Node Values - Loop

The following example loops through all the <book> elements in the
"books.xml" file, and gets the node values of the <title>, <author>, <year>,
and <price> elements:
Example
<?php
object");
foreach($xml->children() as $books) {
echo $books->title . ", ";
echo $books->author . ", ";
echo $books->year . ", ";
echo $books->price . "<br>";
}
?>
Run example »
Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis, 2005, 30.00

Harry Potter, J K. Rowling, 2005, 29.99
XQuery Kick Start, James McGovern, 2003, 49.99
Learning XML, Erik T. Ray, 2003, 39.95
PHP SimpleXML - Get Attribute Values

The following example gets the attribute value of the "category" attribute of the
first <book> element and the attribute value of the "lang" attribute of the
<title> element in the second <book> element:
Example
<?php
object");
echo $xml->book[0]['category'] . "<br>";
echo $xml->book[1]->title['lang'];
?>
Run example »
COOKING
en
PHP SimpleXML - Get Attribute Values - Loop

The following example gets the attribute values of the <title> elements in the
"books.xml" file:
Example
<?php
object");
foreach($xml->children() as $books) {
echo $books->title['lang'];
echo "<br>";
}
?>
Run example »
en
en
en-us
en-us
More PHP SimpleXML
For more information about the PHP SimpleXML functions, visit ourPHP
SimpleXML Reference.
PHP XML Expat Parser
The built-in XML Expat Parser makes it possible to process XML documents
in PHP.
The XML Expat Parser

The Expat parser is an event-based parser.
Look at the following XML fraction:
<from>Jani</from>
An event-based parser reports the XML above as a series of three events:
 Start element: from

 Start CDATA section, value: Jani
 Close element: from
The XML Expat Parser functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation
needed to use these functions.
The XML File

The XML file "note.xml" will be used in the example below:

<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
</note>
Initializing the XML Expat Parser
We want to initialize the XML Expat Parser in PHP, define some handlers for
different XML events, and then parse the XML file.
Example
<?php
// Initialize the XML parser
$parser=xml_parser_create();
// Function to use at the start of an element

function start($parser,$element_name,$element_attrs) {
switch($element_name) {
case "NOTE":
echo "-- Note --<br>";
break;
case "TO":
echo "To: ";
break;
case "FROM":
echo "From: ";
break;
case "HEADING":
echo "Heading: ";
break;
case "BODY":
echo "Message: ";
}
}
// Function to use at the end of an element

function stop($parser,$element_name) {
echo "<br>";
}
// Function to use when finding character data

function char($parser,$data) {
echo $data;
}
// Specify element handler
xml_set_element_handler($parser,"start","stop");
// Specify data handler

xml_set_character_data_handler($parser,"char");
// Open XML file

$fp=fopen("note.xml","r");
// Read data
while ($data=fread($fp,4096)) {
xml_parse($parser,$data,feof($fp)) or
die (sprintf("XML Error: %s at line %d",
xml_error_string(xml_get_error_code($parser)),
xml_get_current_line_number($parser)));
}
// Free the XML parser

xml_parser_free($parser);
?>
Run example »
Example explained:
1. Initialize the XML parser with the xml_parser_create()function

2. Create functions to use with the different event handlers
3. Add the xml_set_element_handler() function to specify which function
will be executed when the parser encounters the opening and closing tags
4. Add the xml_set_character_data_handler() function to specify which
function will execute when the parser encounters character data
5. Parse the file "note.xml" with the xml_parse() function
6. In case of an error, add xml_error_string() function to convert an XML
error to a textual description
7. Call the xml_parser_free() function to release the memory allocated
with the xml_parser_create() function
More PHP XML Expat Parser

For more information about the PHP Expat functions, visit our PHP XML Parser
Reference.
PHP XML DOM Parser
The built-in DOM parser makes it possible to process XML documents in PHP.
The XML DOM Parser

The DOM parser is a tree-based parser.
Look at the following XML document fraction:

<from>Jani</from>
The DOM sees the XML above as a tree structure:
 Level 1: XML Document

 Level 2: Root element: <from>
 Level 3: Text element: "Jani"
Installation
The DOM parser functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation
needed to use these functions.
The XML File

The XML file below ("note.xml") will be used in our example:

<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
</note>
Load and Output XML

We want to initialize the XML parser, load the xml, and output it:
<?php
$xmlDoc = new DOMDocument();
$xmlDoc->load("note.xml");
print $xmlDoc->saveXML();
?>
Tove Jani Reminder Don't forget me this weekend!
If you select "View source" in the browser window, you will see the following
HTML:

<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
</note>
The example above creates a DOMDocument-Object and loads the XML from
"note.xml" into it.
Then the saveXML() function puts the internal XML document into a string, so
we can output it.
Looping through XML
We want to initialize the XML parser, load the XML, and loop through all
elements of the <note> element:
<?php
$xmlDoc->load("note.xml");
$x = $xmlDoc->documentElement;
foreach ($x->childNodes AS $item) {
print $item->nodeName . " = " . $item->nodeValue . "<br>";
}
?>
#text =
to = Tove
#text =
from = Jani
#text =
heading = Reminder
#text =
body = Don't forget me this weekend!
#text =
In the example above you see that there are empty text nodes between each
element.
When XML generates, it often contains white-spaces between the nodes. The
XML DOM parser treats these as ordinary elements, and if you are not aware of
them, they sometimes cause problems.
If you want to learn more about the XML DOM, please visit ourXML tutorial.
AJAX Introduction
AJAX is about updating parts of a web page, without reloading the whole
page.
What is AJAX?
AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.
AJAX is a technique for creating fast and dynamic web pages.
AJAX allows web pages to be updated asynchronously by exchanging small

amounts of data with the server behind the scenes. This means that it is
possible to update parts of a web page, without reloading the whole page.
Classic web pages, (which do not use AJAX) must reload the entire page if the
content should change.
Examples of applications using AJAX: Google Maps, Gmail, Youtube, and

Facebook tabs.
How AJAX Works

AJAX is Based on Internet Standards
AJAX is based on internet standards, and uses a combination of:
 XMLHttpRequest object (to exchange data asynchronously with a server)

 JavaScript/DOM (to display/interact with the information)
 CSS (to style the data)
 XML (often used as the format for transferring data)
AJAX applications are browser- and platform-independent!
Google Suggest
AJAX was made popular in 2005 by Google, with Google Suggest.
Google Suggest is using AJAX to create a very dynamic web interface: When
you start typing in Google's search box, a JavaScript sends the letters off to a
server and the server returns a list of suggestions.
Start Using AJAX Today
In our PHP tutorial, we will demonstrate how AJAX can update parts of a web
page, without reloading the whole page. The server script will be written in PHP.
If you want to learn more about AJAX, visit our AJAX tutorial
PHP - AJAX and PHP
AJAX is used to create more interactive applications.
AJAX PHP Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can communicate with
a web server while a user type characters in an input field:
Example
Start typing a name in the input field below:
First name:
Suggestions:
Example Explained
In the example above, when a user types a character in the input field, a
function called "showHint()" is executed.
The function is triggered by the onkeyup event.
Here is the HTML code:
Example
<html>
<head>
<script>
function showHint(str) {
if (str.length == 0) {
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML = "";
return;
} else {
var xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
if (this.readyState == 4 && this.status == 200) {
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML = this.responseText;
}
};
xmlhttp.open("GET", "gethint.php?q=" + str, true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<p><b>Start typing a name in the input field below:</b></p>

<form>
First name: <input type="text"onkeyup="showHint(this.value)">
</form>
<p>Suggestions: <span id="txtHint"></span></p>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Code explanation:
First, check if the input field is empty (str.length == 0). If it is, clear the
content of the txtHint placeholder and exit the function.
However, if the input field is not empty, do the following:
 Create an XMLHttpRequest object

 Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
 Send the request off to a PHP file (gethint.php) on the server
 Notice that q parameter is added to the url (gethint.php?q="+str)
 And the str variable holds the content of the input field
The PHP File - "gethint.php"
The PHP file checks an array of names, and returns the corresponding name(s)
to the browser:
<?php
// Array with names
$a[] = "Anna";
$a[] = "Brittany";
$a[] = "Cinderella";
$a[] = "Diana";
$a[] = "Eva";
$a[] = "Fiona";
$a[] = "Gunda";
$a[] = "Hege";
$a[] = "Inga";
$a[] = "Johanna";
$a[] = "Kitty";
$a[] = "Linda";
$a[] = "Nina";
$a[] = "Ophelia";
$a[] = "Petunia";
$a[] = "Amanda";
$a[] = "Raquel";
$a[] = "Cindy";
$a[] = "Doris";
$a[] = "Eve";
$a[] = "Evita";
$a[] = "Sunniva";
$a[] = "Tove";
$a[] = "Unni";
$a[] = "Violet";
$a[] = "Liza";
$a[] = "Elizabeth";
$a[] = "Ellen";
$a[] = "Wenche";
$a[] = "Vicky";
// get the q parameter from URL

$q = $_REQUEST["q"];
$hint = "";
// lookup all hints from array if $q is different from ""

if ($q !== "") {
$q = strtolower($q);
$len=strlen($q);
foreach($a as $name) {
if (stristr($q, substr($name, 0, $len))) {
if ($hint === "") {
$hint = $name;
} else {
$hint .= ", $name";
}
}
}
}
// Output "no suggestion" if no hint was found or output correct

values
echo $hint === "" ? "no suggestion" : $hint;
?>
PHP - AJAX and MySQL
AJAX can be used for interactive communication with a database.
AJAX Database Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can fetch information
from a database with AJAX:
Example
Person info will be listed here...
Example Explained - The MySQL Database

The database table we use in the example above looks like this:
id FirstName LastName Age Hometown Job
1 Peter Griffin 41 Quahog Brewery
2 Lois Griffin 40 Newport Piano Teacher

3 Joseph Swanson 39 Quahog Police Officer
4 Glenn Quagmire 41 Quahog Pilot
Example Explained
In the example above, when a user selects a person in the dropdown list above,
a function called "showUser()" is executed.
The function is triggered by the onchange event.
Here is the HTML code:
Example
<html>
<head>
<script>
function showUser(str) {
if (str == "") {
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML = "";
return;
} else {
if (window.XMLHttpRequest) {
// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
} else {
// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp = newActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
if (this.readyState == 4 && this.status == 200) {
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML = this.responseText;
}
};
xmlhttp.open("GET","getuser.php?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<select name="users" onchange="showUser(this.value)">
<option value="">Select a person:</option>
<option value="1">Peter Griffin</option>
<option value="2">Lois Griffin</option>
<option value="3">Joseph Swanson</option>
<option value="4">Glenn Quagmire</option>
</select>
</form>
<br>
<div id="txtHint"><b>Person info will be listed here...</b></div>
</body>
</html>
Run example »
Code explanation:
First, check if person is selected. If no person is selected (str == ""), clear the
content of txtHint and exit the function. If a person is selected, do the following:

 Send the request off to a file on the server
 Notice that a parameter (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the
dropdown list)
The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called
"getuser.php".
The source code in "getuser.php" runs a query against a MySQL database, and
returns the result in an HTML table:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
table {
width: 100%;
border-collapse: collapse;
}
table, td, th {
border: 1px solid black;
padding: 5px;
}
th {text-align: left;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<?php
$q = intval($_GET['q']);
$con = mysqli_connect('localhost','peter','abc123','my_db');
if (!$con) {
die('Could not connect: ' . mysqli_error($con));
}
mysqli_select_db($con,"ajax_demo");
$sql="SELECT * FROM user WHERE id = '".$q."'";
$result = mysqli_query($con,$sql);
echo "<table>
<tr>
<th>Firstname</th>
<th>Lastname</th>
<th>Age</th>
<th>Hometown</th>
<th>Job</th>
</tr>";
while($row = mysqli_fetch_array($result)) {
echo "<tr>";
echo "<td>" . $row['FirstName'] . "</td>";
echo "<td>" . $row['LastName'] . "</td>";
echo "<td>" . $row['Age'] . "</td>";
echo "<td>" . $row['Hometown'] . "</td>";
echo "<td>" . $row['Job'] . "</td>";
echo "</tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
mysqli_close($con);
?>
</body>
</html>
Explanation: When the query is sent from the JavaScript to the PHP file, the
following happens:
1. PHP opens a connection to a MySQL server

2. The correct person is found
3. An HTML table is created, filled with data, and sent back to the "txtHint"
placeholder
PHP Example - AJAX and XML
AJAX can be used for interactive communication with an XML file.
AJAX XML Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can fetch information
from an XML file with AJAX:
Example
CD info will be listed here...
Example Explained - The HTML Page

When a user selects a CD in the dropdown list above, a function called
"showCD()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onchange" event:
<html>
<head>
<script>
function showCD(str) {
if (str=="") {
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML="";
return;
}
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
} else { // code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP");
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function() {
if (this.readyState==4 && this.status==200) {
document.getElementById("txtHint").innerHTML=this.responseText;
}
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","getcd.php?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<form>
Select a CD:
<select name="cds" onchange="showCD(this.value)">
<option value="">Select a CD:</option>
<option value="Bob Dylan">Bob Dylan</option>
<option value="Bee Gees">Bee Gees</option>
<option value="Cat Stevens">Cat Stevens</option>
</select>
</form>
<div id="txtHint"><b>CD info will be listed here...</b></div>
</body>
</html>
The showCD() function does the following:
 Check if a CD is selected
dropdown list)
The PHP File

"getcd.php".
The PHP script loads an XML document, "cd_catalog.xml", runs a query against
the XML file, and returns the result as HTML:
<?php
$q=$_GET["q"];

$xmlDoc->load("cd_catalog.xml");
$x=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName('ARTIST');
for ($i=0; $i<=$x->length-1; $i++) {

//Process only element nodes
if ($x->item($i)->nodeType==1) {
if ($x->item($i)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue == $q) {
$y=($x->item($i)->parentNode);
}
}
}
$cd=($y->childNodes);
for ($i=0;$i<$cd->length;$i++) {
//Process only element nodes
if ($cd->item($i)->nodeType==1) {
echo("<b>" . $cd->item($i)->nodeName . ":</b> ");
echo($cd->item($i)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue);
echo("<br>");
}
}
?>
When the CD query is sent from the JavaScript to the PHP page, the following
happens:
1. PHP creates an XML DOM object

2. Find all <artist> elements that matches the name sent from the
JavaScript
3. Output the album information (send to the "txtHint" placeholder)
PHP Example - AJAX Live Search
AJAX can be used to create more user-friendly and interactive searches.
AJAX Live Search

The following example will demonstrate a live search, where you get search
results while you type.
Live search has many benefits compared to traditional searching:
 Results are shown as you type

 Results narrow as you continue typing
 If results become too narrow, remove characters to see a broader result
Search for a W3Schools page in the input field below:
The results in the example above are found in an XML file (links.xml). To make
this example small and simple, only six results are available.

When a user types a character in the input field above, the function
"showResult()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onkeyup" event:
<html>
<head>
<script>
function showResult(str) {
if (str.length==0) {
document.getElementById("livesearch").innerHTML="";
document.getElementById("livesearch").style.border="0px";
return;
}
}
document.getElementById("livesearch").innerHTML=this.responseText
;
document.getElementById("livesearch").style.border="1px solid
#A5ACB2";
}
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","livesearch.php?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<input type="text" size="30"onkeyup="showResult(this.value)">
<div id="livesearch"></div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Source code explanation:
If the input field is empty (str.length==0), the function clears the content of the
livesearch placeholder and exits the function.
If the input field is not empty, the showResult() function executes the following:

input field)
The PHP File
"livesearch.php".
The source code in "livesearch.php" searches an XML file for titles matching the
search string and returns the result:
<?php
$xmlDoc=new DOMDocument();
$xmlDoc->load("links.xml");
$x=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName('link');
//get the q parameter from URL

$q=$_GET["q"];
//lookup all links from the xml file if length of q>0

if (strlen($q)>0) {
$hint="";
for($i=0; $i<($x->length); $i++) {
$y=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName('title');
$z=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName('url');
if ($y->item(0)->nodeType==1) {
//find a link matching the search text
if (stristr($y->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue,$q)) {
if ($hint=="") {
$hint="<a href='" .
$z->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue .
"' target='_blank'>" .
$y->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue . "</a>";
} else {
$hint=$hint . "<br /><a href='" .
$z->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue .
"' target='_blank'>" .
$y->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue . "</a>";
}
}
}
}
}
// Set output to "no suggestion" if no hint was found
// or to the correct values
if ($hint=="") {
$response="no suggestion";
} else {
$response=$hint;
}
//output the response

echo $response;
?>
If there is any text sent from the JavaScript (strlen($q) > 0), the following
happens:
 Load an XML file into a new XML DOM object

 Loop through all <title> elements to find matches from the text sent from
the JavaScript
 Sets the correct url and title in the "$response" variable. If more than one
match is found, all matches are added to the variable
 If no matches are found, the $response variable is set to "no suggestion"
PHP Example - AJAX RSS Reader
An RSS Reader is used to read RSS Feeds.
AJAX RSS Reader

The following example will demonstrate an RSS reader, where the RSS-feed is
loaded into a webpage without reloading:
RSS-feed will be listed here...

When a user selects an RSS-feed in the dropdown list above, a function called
"showRSS()" is executed. The function is triggered by the "onchange" event:
<html>
<head>
<script>
function showRSS(str) {
if (str.length==0) {
document.getElementById("rssOutput").innerHTML="";
return;
}
}
document.getElementById("rssOutput").innerHTML=this.responseText;
}
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","getrss.php?q="+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<form>
<select onchange="showRSS(this.value)">
<option value="">Select an RSS-feed:</option>
<option value="Google">Google News</option>
<option value="ZDN">ZDNet News</option>
</select>
</form>
<br>
<div id="rssOutput">RSS-feed will be listed here...</div>
</body>
</html>
The showRSS() function does the following:
 Check if an RSS-feed is selected

dropdown list)
The PHP File

"getrss.php":
<?php
//get the q parameter from URL
$q=$_GET["q"];
//find out which feed was selected
if($q=="Google") {
$xml=("http://news.google.com/news?ned=us&topic=h&output=rss");
} elseif($q=="ZDN") {
$xml=("https://www.zdnet.com/news/rss.xml");
}

$xmlDoc->load($xml);
//get elements from "<channel>"

$channel=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName('channel')->item(0);
$channel_title = $channel->getElementsByTagName('title')
->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;
$channel_link = $channel->getElementsByTagName('link')
$channel_desc = $channel->getElementsByTagName('description')
//output elements from "<channel>"

echo("<p><a href='" . $channel_link
. "'>" . $channel_title . "</a>");
echo("<br>");
echo($channel_desc . "</p>");
//get and output "<item>" elements

$x=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName('item');
for ($i=0; $i<=2; $i++) {
$item_title=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName('title')
$item_link=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName('link')
$item_desc=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName('description')
echo ("<p><a href='" . $item_link
. "'>" . $item_title . "</a>");
echo ("<br>");
echo ($item_desc . "</p>");
}
?>
When a request for an RSS feed is sent from the JavaScript, the following
happens:
 Check which feed was selected

 Create a new XML DOM object
 Load the RSS document in the xml variable
 Extract and output elements from the channel element
 Extract and output elements from the item elements
PHP Example - AJAX Poll
AJAX Poll
The following example will demonstrate a poll where the result is shown without
reloading.
Do you like PHP and AJAX so far?

Yes:
No:

When a user chooses an option above, a function called "getVote()" is executed.
The function is triggered by the "onclick" event:
<html>
<head>
<script>
function getVote(int) {
}
document.getElementById("poll").innerHTML=this.responseText;
}
}
xmlhttp.open("GET","poll_vote.php?vote="+int,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="poll">
<h3>Do you like PHP and AJAX so far?</h3>
<form>
Yes:
<input type="radio" name="vote" value="0"onclick="getVote(this.value)"
>
<br>No:
<input type="radio" name="vote" value="1"onclick="getVote(this.value)"
>
</form>
</div>
</body>
</html>
The getVote() function does the following:

 Notice that a parameter (vote) is added to the URL (with the value of the
yes or no option)
The PHP File

"poll_vote.php":
<?php
$vote = $_REQUEST['vote'];
//get content of textfile

$filename = "poll_result.txt";
$content = file($filename);
//put content in array

$array = explode("||", $content[0]);
$yes = $array[0];
$no = $array[1];
if ($vote == 0) {
$yes = $yes + 1;
}
if ($vote == 1) {
$no = $no + 1;
}
//insert votes to txt file

$insertvote = $yes."||".$no;
$fp = fopen($filename,"w");
fputs($fp,$insertvote);
fclose($fp);
?>
<h2>Result:</h2>
<table>
<tr>
<td>Yes:</td>
<td>
<img src="poll.gif"
width='<?php echo(100*round($yes/($no+$yes),2)); ?>'
height='20'>
<?php echo(100*round($yes/($no+$yes),2)); ?>%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>No:</td>
<td>
<img src="poll.gif"
width='<?php echo(100*round($no/($no+$yes),2)); ?>'
height='20'>
<?php echo(100*round($no/($no+$yes),2)); ?>%
</td>
</tr>
</table>
The value is sent from the JavaScript, and the following happens:
1. Get the content of the "poll_result.txt" file

2. Put the content of the file in variables and add one to the selected
variable
3. Write the result to the "poll_result.txt" file
4. Output a graphical representation of the poll result
The Text File

The text file (poll_result.txt) is where we store the data from the poll.
It is stored like this:
0||0
The first number represents the "Yes" votes, the second number represents the
"No" votes.
Note: Remember to allow your web server to edit the text file. Do NOT give
everyone access, just the web server (PHP).
PHP 5 Reference
This section contains a complete PHP reference documentation.
PHP Reference
The PHP reference contains different categories of all PHP functions and
constants, along with examples.
ArrayCalendarDateDirectoryErrorFilesystemFilterFTPHTTPlibxmlMailMathMisc
MySQLiSimpleXMLStringXMLZipTimezones
PHP 5 Array Functions
PHP Array Introduction

The array functions allow you to access and manipulate arrays.
Simple and multi-dimensional arrays are supported.
Installation
The array functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these
functions.
PHP 5 Array Functions
Function Description
array() Creates an array
array_change_key_case() Changes all keys in an array to

lowercase or uppercase
array_chunk() Splits an array into chunks of

arrays
array_column() Returns the values from a single

column in the input array
array_combine() Creates an array by using the
elements from one "keys" array
and one "values" array
array_count_values() Counts all the values of an array
array_diff() Compare arrays, and returns the

differences (compare values only)
array_diff_assoc() Compare arrays, and returns the

differences (compare keys and
values)
array_diff_key() Compare arrays, and returns the

differences (compare keys only)
array_diff_uassoc() Compare arrays, and returns the

values, using a user-defined key
comparison function)
array_diff_ukey() Compare arrays, and returns the

differences (compare keys only,
using a user-defined key
array_fill() Fills an array with values
array_fill_keys() Fills an array with values,

specifying keys
array_filter() Filters the values of an array

using a callback function
array_flip() Flips/Exchanges all keys with

their associated values in an
array
array_intersect() Compare arrays, and returns the

matches (compare values only)
array_intersect_assoc() Compare arrays and returns the

matches (compare keys and
values)
array_intersect_key() Compare arrays, and returns the

matches (compare keys only)
array_intersect_uassoc() Compare arrays, and returns the

values, using a user-defined key
array_intersect_ukey() Compare arrays, and returns the

matches (compare keys only,
array_key_exists() Checks if the specified key exists

in the array
array_keys() Returns all the keys of an array
array_map() Sends each value of an array to a

user-made function, which
returns new values
array_merge() Merges one or more arrays into

one array
array_merge_recursive() Merges one or more arrays into

one array recursively
array_multisort() Sorts multiple or multi-

dimensional arrays
array_pad() Inserts a specified number of

items, with a specified value, to
an array
array_pop() Deletes the last element of an

array
array_product() Calculates the product of the

values in an array
array_push() Inserts one or more elements to

the end of an array
array_rand() Returns one or more random keys

from an array
array_reduce() Returns an array as a string,

using a user-defined function
array_replace() Replaces the values of the first

array with the values from
following arrays
array_replace_recursive() Replaces the values of the first

array with the values from
following arrays recursively
array_reverse() Returns an array in the reverse

order
array_search() Searches an array for a given

value and returns the key
array_shift() Removes the first element from

an array, and returns the value of
the removed element
array_slice() Returns selected parts of an array
array_splice() Removes and replaces specified

elements of an array
array_sum() Returns the sum of the values in

an array
array_udiff() Compare arrays, and returns the

differences (compare values only,
array_udiff_assoc() Compare arrays, and returns the

values, using a built-in function to
compare the keys and a user-
defined function to compare the
values)
array_udiff_uassoc() Compare arrays, and returns the

values, using two user-defined
key comparison functions)
array_uintersect() Compare arrays, and returns the

matches (compare values only,
array_uintersect_assoc() Compare arrays, and returns the

values, using a built-in function to
compare the keys and a user-
defined function to compare the
values)
array_uintersect_uassoc() Compare arrays, and returns the

values, using two user-defined
key comparison functions)
array_unique() Removes duplicate values from

an array
array_unshift() Adds one or more elements to the

beginning of an array
array_values() Returns all the values of an array
array_walk() Applies a user function to every

member of an array
array_walk_recursive() Applies a user function recursively
to every member of an array
arsort() Sorts an associative array in

descending order, according to
the value
asort() Sorts an associative array in

ascending order, according to the
value
compact() Create array containing variables

and their values
count() Returns the number of elements

in an array
current() Returns the current element in an

array
each() Returns the current key and value

pair from an array
end() Sets the internal pointer of an

array to its last element
extract() Imports variables into the current

symbol table from an array
in_array() Checks if a specified value exists

in an array
key() Fetches a key from an array
krsort() Sorts an associative array in

descending order, according to
the key
ksort() Sorts an associative array in

ascending order, according to the
key
list() Assigns variables as if they were

an array
natcasesort() Sorts an array using a case

insensitive "natural order"
algorithm
natsort() Sorts an array using a "natural

order" algorithm
next() Advance the internal array pointer

of an array
pos() Alias of current()
prev() Rewinds the internal array pointer
range() Creates an array containing a

range of elements
reset() Sets the internal pointer of an
array to its first element
rsort() Sorts an indexed array in

descending order
shuffle() Shuffles an array
sizeof() Alias of count()
sort() Sorts an indexed array in

ascending order
uasort() Sorts an array by values using a

user-defined comparison function
uksort() Sorts an array by keys using a

user-defined comparison function
usort() Sorts an array using a user-

defined comparison function
PHP 5 Calendar Functions
PHP Calendar Introduction

The calendar extension contains functions that simplifies converting between different
calendar formats.
It is based on the Julian Day Count, which is a count of days starting from January
1st, 4713 B.C.
Note: To convert between calendar formats, you must first convert to Julian Day Count,
then to the calendar of your choice.
Note: The Julian Day Count is not the same as the Julian Calendar!
Installation
For these functions to work, you have to compile PHP with --enable-calendar.
The Windows version of PHP has built-in support for this extension.
PHP 5 Calendar Functions
cal_days_in_month() Returns the number of days in a

month for a specified year and
calendar
cal_from_jd() Converts a Julian Day Count into a

date of a specified calendar
cal_info() Returns information about a specified
calendar
cal_to_jd() Converts a date in a specified calendar

to Julian Day Count
easter_date() Returns the Unix timestamp for

midnight on Easter of a specified year
easter_days() Returns the number of days after

March 21, that the Easter Day is in a
specified year
frenchtojd() Converts a French Republican date to a

Julian Day Count
gregoriantojd() Converts a Gregorian date to a Julian

Day Count
jddayofweek() Returns the day of the week
jdmonthname() Returns a month name
jdtofrench() Converts a Julian Day Count to a

French Republican date
jdtogregorian() Converts a Julian Day Count to a

Gregorian date
jdtojewish() Converts a Julian Day Count to a

Jewish date
jdtojulian() Converts a Julian Day Count to a Julian

date
jdtounix() Converts Julian Day Count to Unix

timestamp
jewishtojd() Converts a Jewish date to a Julian Day

Count
juliantojd() Converts a Julian date to a Julian Day

Count
unixtojd() Converts Unix timestamp to Julian Day

Count
PHP 5 Predefined Calendar Constants
Constant Type PHP

Version
CAL_GREGORIAN Integer PHP 4
CAL_JULIAN Integer PHP 4

CAL_JEWISH Integer PHP 4
CAL_FRENCH Integer PHP 4
CAL_NUM_CALS Integer PHP 4
CAL_DOW_DAYNO Integer PHP 4
CAL_DOW_SHORT Integer PHP 4
CAL_DOW_LONG Integer PHP 4
CAL_MONTH_GREGORIAN_SHORT Integer PHP 4
CAL_MONTH_GREGORIAN_LONG Integer PHP 4
CAL_MONTH_JULIAN_SHORT Integer PHP 4
CAL_MONTH_JULIAN_LONG Integer PHP 4
CAL_MONTH_JEWISH Integer PHP 4
CAL_MONTH_FRENCH Integer PHP 4

CAL_EASTER_DEFAULT Integer PHP 4.3
CAL_EASTER_ROMAN Integer PHP 4.3
CAL_EASTER_ALWAYS_GREGORIAN Integer PHP 4.3
CAL_EASTER_ALWAYS_JULIAN Integer PHP 4.3
CAL_JEWISH_ADD_ALAFIM_GERESH Integer PHP 5.0
CAL_JEWISH_ADD_ALAFIM Integer PHP 5.0
CAL_JEWISH_ADD_GERESHAYIM Integer PHP 5.0

PHP 5 Date/Time Functions
PHP Date/Time Introduction

The date/time functions allow you to get the date and time from the server where your PHP
script runs. You can then use the date/time functions to format the date and time in several
ways.
Note: These functions depend on the locale settings of your server. Remember to take
daylight saving time and leap years into consideration when working with these functions.
Installation
The PHP date/time functions are part of the PHP core. No installation is required to use
these functions.
Runtime Configuration
The behavior of these functions is affected by settings in php.ini:
Name Description Default PHP

Version
date.timezone The default "" PHP 5.1

timezone (used by
all date/time
functions)
date.default_latitude The default "31.7667" PHP 5.0

latitude (used by
date_sunrise() and
date_sunset())
date.default_longitude The default "35.2333" PHP 5.0

longitude (used by
date_sunrise() and
date_sunset())
date.sunrise_zenith The default sunrise "90.83" PHP 5.0

zenith (used by
date_sunrise() and
date_sunset())
date.sunset_zenith The default sunset "90.83" PHP 5.0

zenith (used by
date_sunrise() and
date_sunset())
PHP 5 Date/Time Functions
checkdate() Validates a Gregorian

date
date_add() Adds days, months,

years, hours, minutes,
and seconds to a date
date_create_from_format() Returns a new
DateTime object
formatted according to
a specified format
date_create() Returns a new

DateTime object
date_date_set() Sets a new date
date_default_timezone_get() Returns the default

timezone used by all
date/time functions
date_default_timezone_set() Sets the default

timezone used by all
date/time functions
date_diff() Returns the difference

between two dates
date_format() Returns a date

formatted according to
a specified format
date_get_last_errors() Returns the

warnings/errors found
in a date string
date_interval_create_from_date_string() Sets up a DateInterval

from the relative parts
of the string
date_interval_format() Formats the interval
date_isodate_set() Sets the ISO date
date_modify() Modifies the

timestamp
date_offset_get() Returns the timezone

offset
date_parse_from_format() Returns an associative

array with detailed
info about a specified
date, according to a
specified format
date_parse() Returns an associative

array with detailed
info about a specified
date
date_sub() Subtracts days,

months, years, hours,
minutes, and seconds
from a date
date_sun_info() Returns an array

containing info about
sunset/sunrise and
twilight begin/end, for
a specified day and
location
date_sunrise() Returns the sunrise

time for a specified
day and location
date_sunset() Returns the sunset

time for a specified
day and location
date_time_set() Sets the time
date_timestamp_get() Returns the Unix

timestamp
date_timestamp_set() Sets the date and time

based on a Unix
timestamp
date_timezone_get() Returns the time zone

of the given DateTime
object
date_timezone_set() Sets the time zone for

the DateTime object
date() Formats a local date

and time
getdate() Returns date/time

information of a
timestamp or the
current local date/time
gettimeofday() Returns the current

time
gmdate() Formats a GMT/UTC

date and time
gmmktime() Returns the Unix

timestamp for a GMT
date
gmstrftime() Formats a GMT/UTC

date and time
according to locale
settings
idate() Formats a local

time/date as integer
localtime() Returns the local time
microtime() Returns the current

Unix timestamp with
microseconds
mktime() Returns the Unix

timestamp for a date
strftime() Formats a local time
and/or date according
to locale settings
strptime() Parses a time/date

generated with
strftime()
strtotime() Parses an English

textual datetime into a
Unix timestamp
time() Returns the current

time as a Unix
timestamp
timezone_abbreviations_list() Returns an associative

array containing dst,
offset, and the
timezone name
timezone_identifiers_list() Returns an indexed

array with all
timezone identifiers
timezone_location_get() Returns location

information for a
specified timezone
timezone_name_from_ abbr() Returns the timezone

name from
abbreviation
timezone_name_get() Returns the name of
the timezone
timezone_offset_get() Returns the timezone

offset from GMT
timezone_open() Creates new

DateTimeZone object
timezone_transitions_get() Returns all transitions

for the timezone
timezone_version_get() Returns the version of

the timezone db
PHP 5 Predefined Date/Time Constants
Constant Description
DATE_ATOM Atom (example: 2005-08-

15T16:13:03+0000)
DATE_COOKIE HTTP Cookies (example: Sun, 14 Aug

2005 16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_ISO8601 ISO-8601 (example: 2005-08-

14T16:13:03+0000)
DATE_RFC822 RFC 822 (example: Sun, 14 Aug 2005

16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_RFC850 RFC 850 (example: Sunday, 14-Aug-05

16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_RFC1036 RFC 1036 (example: Sunday, 14-Aug-05

16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_RFC1123 RFC 1123 (example: Sun, 14 Aug 2005

16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_RFC2822 RFC 2822 (Sun, 14 Aug 2005 16:13:03

+0000)
DATE_RSS RSS (Sun, 14 Aug 2005 16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_W3C World Wide Web Consortium (example:

2005-08-14T16:13:03+0000)
PHP 5 Directory Functions
PHP Directory Introduction

The directory functions allow you to retrieve information about directories and their
contents.
Installation
The PHP directory functions are part of the PHP core. No installation is required to use these
functions.
PHP 5 Directory Functions
chdir() Changes the current directory
chroot() Changes the root directory
closedir() Closes a directory handle
dir() Returns an instance of the Directory class
getcwd() Returns the current working directory

opendir() Opens a directory handle
readdir() Returns an entry from a directory handle
rewinddir() Resets a directory handle
scandir() Returns an array of files and directories of a

specified directory
PHP 5 Error Functions
PHP Error Introduction

The error functions are used to deal with error handling and logging.
The error functions allow us to define own error handling rules, and modify the way the
errors can be logged.
The logging functions allow us to send messages directly to other machines, emails, or
system logs.
The error reporting functions allow us to customize what level and kind of error feedback is
given.
Installation
The PHP error functions are part of the PHP core. No installation is required to use these
functions.
The behavior of the error functions is affected by settings in php.ini.
Errors and logging configuration options:
Name Default Description Changeable
error_reporting NULL Sets the error reporting PHP_INI_ALL

level (either an integer
or named constants)
display_errors "1" Specifies whether PHP_INI_ALL
errors should be printed
to the screen, or if they
should be hidden from
the user.
Note: This feature
should never be used
on production systems
(only to support your
development)
display_startup_errors "0" Even when PHP_INI_ALL

display_errors is on,
errors that occur during
PHP's startup sequence
are not displayed
Note: It is strongly
recommended to keep
display_startup_errors
off, except for
debugging
log_errors "0" Defines whether script PHP_INI_ALL

error messages should
be logged to the
server's error log or
error_log.
Note: It is strongly
advised to use error
logging instead of error
displaying on
production web sites
log_errors_max_len "1024" Sets the maximum PHP_INI_ALL

length of log_errors in
bytes. The value "0"
can be used to not
apply any maximum
length at all. This
length is applied to
logged errors,
displayed errors, and
also to $php_errormsg
(available since PHP
4.3)
ignore_repeated_errors "0" Specifies whether to PHP_INI_ALL

log repeated error
messages. When set to
"1" it will not log errors
with repeated errors
from the same file on
the same line (available
since PHP 4.3)
ignore_repeated_source "0" Specifies whether to PHP_INI_ALL

log repeated error
messages. When set to
"1" it will not log errors
with repeated errors
from different files or
source lines (available
since PHP 4.3)
report_memleaks "1" If set to "1" (the PHP_INI_ALL

default), this parameter
will show a report of
memory leaks detected
by the Zend memory
manager (available
since PHP 4.3)
track_errors "0" If set to "1", the last PHP_INI_ALL

error message will
always be present in the
variable $php_errormsg
html_errors "1" Turns off HTML tags PHP_INI_ALL
in error messages PHP_INI_SYSTEM
in PHP <= 4.2.3.
xmlrpc_errors "0" Turns off normal error PHP_INI_SYSTEM

reporting and formats
errors as XML-RPC
error message
(available since PHP
4.1)
xmlrpc_error_number "0" Used as the value of the PHP_INI_ALL

XML-RPC faultCode
element (available
since PHP 4.1)
docref_root "" (available since PHP PHP_INI_ALL

4.3)
docref_ext "" (available since PHP PHP_INI_ALL

4.3.2)
error_prepend_string NULL Specifies a string to PHP_INI_ALL

output before an error
message
error_append_string NULL Specifies a string to PHP_INI_ALL

output after an error
message
error_log NULL Specifies the name of PHP_INI_ALL

the file where script
errors should be
logged. The file should
be writable by the web
server's user. If the
special value syslog is
used, the errors are sent
to the system logger
instead
PHP Error and Logging Functions
debug_backtrace() Generates a backtrace
debug_print_backtrace() Prints a backtrace
error_get_last() Returns the last error that

occurred
error_log() Sends an error message to a

log, to a file, or to a mail
account
error_reporting() Specifies which errors are

reported
restore_error_handler() Restores the previous error

handler
restore_exception_handler() Restores the previous exception
handler
set_error_handler() Sets a user-defined error

handler function
set_exception_handler() Sets a user-defined exception

handler function
trigger_error() Creates a user-level error

message
user_error() Alias of trigger_error()
PHP 5 Predefined Error and Logging Constants
Value Constant Description
1 E_ERROR Fatal run-time errors.

Errors that cannot be
recovered from.
Execution of the script is
halted
2 E_WARNING Run-time warnings (non-

fatal errors). Execution
of the script is not halted
4 E_PARSE Compile-time parse

errors. Parse errors
should only be generated
by the parser
8 E_NOTICE Run-time notices. The

script found something
that might be an error,
but could also happen
when running a script
normally
16 E_CORE_ERROR Fatal errors at PHP

startup. This is like
E_ERROR, except it is
generated by the core of
PHP
32 E_CORE_WARNING Non-fatal errors at PHP

startup. This is like
E_WARNING, except it
is generated by the core
of PHP
64 E_COMPILE_ERROR Fatal compile-time

errors. This is like
generated by the Zend
Scripting Engine
128 E_COMPILE_WARNING Non-fatal compile-time

errors. This is like
is generated by the Zend
Scripting Engine
256 E_USER_ERROR Fatal user-generated

error. This is like
generated in PHP code
by using the PHP
512 E_USER_WARNING Non-fatal user-generated

warning. This is like
is generated in PHP code
by using the PHP
1024 E_USER_NOTICE User-generated notice.

This is like E_NOTICE,
except it is generated in
PHP code by using the
PHP function
trigger_error()
2048 E_STRICT Enable to have PHP

suggest changes to your
code which will ensure
the best interoperability
and forward
compatibility of your
code (Since PHP 5 but
not included in E_ALL
until PHP 5.4)
4096 E_RECOVERABLE_ERROR Catchable fatal error.

Indicates that a probably
dangerous error
occurred, but did not
leave the Engine in an
unstable state. If the
error is not caught by a
user defined handle, the
application aborts as it
was an E_ERROR
(Since PHP 5.2)
8192 E_DEPRECATED Run-time notices. Enable

this to receive warnings
about code that will not
work in future versions
(Since PHP 5.3)
16384 E_USER_DEPRECATED User-generated warning

message. This is like
E_DEPRECATED,
except it is generated in
PHP code by using the
PHP function
trigger_error() (Since
PHP 5.3)
32767 E_ALL Enable all PHP errors

and warnings (except
E_STRICT in versions <
5.4)
PHP 5 Filesystem Functions
PHP Filesystem Introduction

The filesystem functions allow you to access and manipulate the filesystem.
Installation
The filesystem functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use
these functions.
Unix / Windows Compatibility

When specifying a path on Unix platforms, a forward slash (/) is used as directory
separator.
On Windows platforms, both forward slash (/) and backslash (\) can be used.
The behavior of the filesystem functions is affected by settings in php.ini.
Filesystem configuration options:
allow_url_fopen "1" Allows PHP_INI_SYSTEM

fopen()-type
functions to
work with
URLs
(available
since PHP
4.0.4)
user_agent NULL Defines the PHP_INI_ALL

user agent for
PHP to send
(available
since PHP
4.3)
default_socket_timeout "60" Sets the PHP_INI_ALL

default
timeout, in
seconds, for
socket based
streams
(available
since PHP
4.3)
from "" Defines the PHP_INI_ALL

anonymous
FTP
password
(your email
address)
auto_detect_line_endings "0" When set to PHP_INI_ALL

"1", PHP will
examine the
data read by
fgets() and
file() to see if
it is using
Unix, MS-
Dos or Mac
line-ending
characters
(available
since PHP
4.3)
PHP 5 Filesystem Functions
basename() Returns the filename component of a

path
chgrp() Changes the file group
chmod() Changes the file mode
chown() Changes the file owner
clearstatcache() Clears the file status cache
copy() Copies a file
delete() See unlink() or unset()
dirname() Returns the directory name component

of a path
disk_free_space() Returns the free space of a directory
disk_total_space() Returns the total size of a directory
diskfreespace() Alias of disk_free_space()
fclose() Closes an open file
feof() Tests for end-of-file on an open file
fflush() Flushes buffered output to an open file
fgetc() Returns a character from an open file
fgetcsv() Parses a line from an open file, checking

for CSV fields
fgets() Returns a line from an open file
fgetss() Returns a line, with HTML and PHP

tags removed, from an open file
file() Reads a file into an array

file_exists() Checks whether or not a file or directory
exists
file_get_contents() Reads a file into a string
file_put_contents() Writes a string to a file
fileatime() Returns the last access time of a file
filectime() Returns the last change time of a file
filegroup() Returns the group ID of a file
fileinode() Returns the inode number of a file
filemtime() Returns the last modification time of a

file
fileowner() Returns the user ID (owner) of a file
fileperms() Returns the permissions of a file
filesize() Returns the file size
filetype() Returns the file type

flock() Locks or releases a file
fnmatch() Matches a filename or string against a

specified pattern
fopen() Opens a file or URL
fpassthru() Reads from an open file, until EOF, and

writes the result to the output buffer
fputcsv() Formats a line as CSV and writes it to an

open file
fputs() Alias of fwrite()
fread() Reads from an open file
fscanf() Parses input from an open file according

to a specified format
fseek() Seeks in an open file
fstat() Returns information about an open file
ftell() Returns the current position in an open

file
ftruncate() Truncates an open file to a specified
length
fwrite() Writes to an open file
glob() Returns an array of filenames /

directories matching a specified pattern
is_dir() Checks whether a file is a directory
is_executable() Checks whether a file is executable
is_file() Checks whether a file is a regular file
is_link() Checks whether a file is a link
is_readable() Checks whether a file is readable
is_uploaded_file() Checks whether a file was uploaded via

HTTP POST
is_writable() Checks whether a file is writeable
is_writeable() Alias of is_writable()
lchgrp() Changes group ownership of symlink

lchown() Changes user ownership of symlink
link() Creates a hard link
linkinfo() Returns information about a hard link
lstat() Returns information about a file or

symbolic link
mkdir() Creates a directory
move_uploaded_file() Moves an uploaded file to a new

location
parse_ini_file() Parses a configuration file
parse_ini_string() Parses a configuration string
pathinfo() Returns information about a file path
pclose() Closes a pipe opened by popen()
popen() Opens a pipe
readfile() Reads a file and writes it to the output

buffer
readlink() Returns the target of a symbolic link
realpath() Returns the absolute pathname
realpath_cache_get() Returns realpath cache entries
realpath_cache_size() Returns realpath cache size
rename() Renames a file or directory
rewind() Rewinds a file pointer
rmdir() Removes an empty directory
set_file_buffer() Sets the buffer size of an open file
stat() Returns information about a file
symlink() Creates a symbolic link
tempnam() Creates a unique temporary file
tmpfile() Creates a unique temporary file

touch() Sets access and modification time of a
file
umask() Changes file permissions for files
unlink() Deletes a file
PHP 5 Filter Functions
PHP Filter Introduction

This PHP filters is used to validate and filter data coming from insecure sources, like user
input.
Installation
As of PHP 5.2.0, the filter functions are enabled by default. There is no installation needed
to use these functions.
Runtime Configurations
The behavior of these functions is affected by settings in php.ini:
Name Description Default Changeable
filter.default Filter all $_GET, $_POST, $_COOKIE, "unsafe_raw PHP_INI_PERDI

$_REQUEST and $_SERVER data by " R
this filter. Accepts the name of the filter
you like to use by default. See the filter
list for the list of the filter names
filter.default_flag Default flags to apply when the default NULL PHP_INI_PERDI

s filter is set. This is set to R
FILTER_FLAG_NO_ENCODE_QUOTE
S by default for backwards compatibility
reasons
PHP 5 Filter Functions
filter_has_var() Checks if a variable of a specified input

type exist
filter_id() Returns the filter ID of a specified filter

name
filter_input() Gets an external variable (e.g. from

form input) and optionally filters it
filter_input_array() Gets external variables (e.g. from form

input) and optionally filters them
filter_list() Returns a list of all supported filters
filter_var_array() Gets multiple variables and filter them
filter_var() Filters a variable with a specified filter
PHP 5 Predefined Filter Constants
Constant ID Description
FILTER_VALIDATE_BOOLEAN 258 Validates a boolean
FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL 274 Validates an e-mail address
FILTER_VALIDATE_FLOAT 259 Validates a float
FILTER_VALIDATE_INT 257 Validates an integer
FILTER_VALIDATE_IP 275 Validates an IP address
FILTER_VALIDATE_REGEXP 272 Validates a regular expression
FILTER_VALIDATE_URL 273 Validates a URL
FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL 517 Removes all illegal characters

from an e-mail address
FILTER_SANITIZE_ENCODED 514 Removes/Encodes special

characters
FILTER_SANITIZE_MAGIC_QUOTES 521 Apply addslashes()
FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_FLOAT 520 Remove all characters, except

digits, +- and optionally .,eE
FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_INT 519 Removes all characters except

digits and + -
FILTER_SANITIZE_SPECIAL_CHARS 515 Removes special characters
FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS
FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING 513 Removes tags/special

characters from a string
FILTER_SANITIZE_STRIPPED 513 Alias of

FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING
FILTER_SANITIZE_URL 518 Removes all illegal character

from s URL
FILTER_UNSAFE_RAW 516 Do nothing, optionally

strip/encode special characters
FILTER_CALLBACK 1024 Call a user-defined function to

filter data
PHP 5 FTP Functions
PHP FTP Introduction

The FTP functions give client access to file servers through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
The FTP functions are used to open, login and close connections, as well as upload,
download, rename, delete, and get information on files from file servers. Not all of the FTP
functions will work with every server or return the same results. The FTP functions became
available with PHP 3.
If you only wish to read from or write to a file on an FTP server, consider using the ftp://
wrapper with the Filesystem functions which provide a simpler and more intuitive interface.
Installation
For these functions to work, you have to compile PHP with --enable-ftp.
The Windows version of PHP has built-in support for this extension.
PHP 5 FTP Functions
ftp_alloc() Allocates space for a file to be uploaded to

the FTP server
ftp_cdup() Changes to the parent directory on the

FTP server
ftp_chdir() Changes the current directory on the FTP
server
ftp_chmod() Sets permissions on a file via FTP
ftp_close() Closes an FTP connection
ftp_connect() Opens an FTP connection
ftp_delete() Deletes a file on the FTP server
ftp_exec() Executes a command on the FTP server
ftp_fget() Downloads a file from the FTP server and

saves it into an open local file
ftp_fput() Uploads from an open file and saves it to

a file on the FTP server
ftp_get_option() Returns runtime options of the FTP

connection
ftp_get() Downloads a file from the FTP server
ftp_login() Logs in to the FTP connection
ftp_mdtm() Returns the last modified time of a

specified file
ftp_mkdir() Creates a new directory on the FTP server
ftp_nb_continue() Continues retrieving/sending a file (non-

blocking)
ftp_nb_fget() Downloads a file from the FTP server and

saves it into an open file (non-blocking)
ftp_nb_fput() Uploads from an open file and saves it to

a file on the FTP server (non-blocking)
ftp_nb_get() Downloads a file from the FTP server

(non-blocking)
ftp_nb_put() Uploads a file to the FTP server (non-

blocking)
ftp_nlist() Returns a list of files in the specified

directory on the FTP server
ftp_pasv() Turns passive mode on or off
ftp_put() Uploads a file to the FTP server
ftp_pwd() Returns the current directory name
ftp_quit() An alias of ftp_close()

ftp_raw() Sends a raw command to the FTP server
ftp_rawlist() Returns a list of files with file information

from a specified directory
ftp_rename() Renames a file or directory on the FTP

server
ftp_rmdir() Deletes an empty directory on the FTP

server
ftp_set_option() Sets runtime options for the FTP

connection
ftp_site() Sends an FTP SITE command to the FTP

server
ftp_size() Returns the size of the specified file
ftp_ssl_connect() Opens a secure SSL-FTP connection
ftp_systype() Returns the system type identifier of the

FTP server
PHP 5 Predefined FTP Constants
Constant Type PHP
FTP_ASCII Integer PHP 3

FTP_TEXT Integer PHP 3
FTP_BINARY Integer PHP 3
FTP_IMAGE Integer PHP 3
FTP_TIMEOUT_SEC Integer PHP 3
FTP_AUTOSEEK Integer PHP 4.3
FTP_AUTORESUME Integer PHP 4.3
FTP_FAILED Integer PHP 4.3
FTP_FINISHED Integer PHP 4.3
FTP_MOREDATA Integer PHP 4.3

PHP 5 HTTP Functions
PHP HTTP Introduction

The HTTP functions let you manipulate information sent to the browser by the Web server,
before any other output has been sent.
Installation
The HTTP functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these
functions.
PHP 5 HTTP Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.
header() Sends a raw HTTP header to a client
headers_list() Returns a list of response headers sent (or

ready to send)
headers_sent() Checks if / where the HTTP headers have

been sent
setcookie() Defines a cookie to be sent along with the

rest of the HTTP headers
setrawcookie() Defines a cookie (without URL encoding) to
be sent along with the rest of the HTTP
headers
PHP 5 libxml Functions
PHP libxml Introduction

The libxml functions and constants are used together with SimpleXML, XSLT and DOM
functions.
Installation
These functions require the libxml package. Download at xmlsoft.org
PHP libxml Functions

libxml_clear_errors() Clear libxml error buffer
libxml_get_errors() Retrieve array of errors
libxml_get_last_error() Retrieve last error from libxml
libxml_set_streams_context() Set the streams context for

the next libxml document load
or write
libxml_use_internal_errors() Disable libxml errors and
allow user to fetch error
information as needed
PHP 5 Predefined libxml Constants
LIBXML_COMPACT Set small nodes allocation

optimization. This may improve
the application performance
LIBXML_DTDATTR Set default DTD attributes
LIBXML_DTDLOAD Load external subset
LIBXML_DTDVALID Validate with the DTD
LIBXML_NOBLANKS Remove blank nodes
LIBXML_NOCDATA Set CDATA as text nodes
LIBXML_NOEMPTYTAG Change empty tags (e.g. <br/>

to <br></br>), only available in
the DOMDocument->save() and
DOMDocument->saveXML()
functions
LIBXML_NOENT Substitute entities

LIBXML_NOERROR Do not show error reports
LIBXML_NONET Stop network access while

loading documents
LIBXML_NOWARNING Do not show warning reports
LIBXML_NOXMLDECL Drop the XML declaration when

saving a document
LIBXML_NSCLEAN Remove excess namespace

declarations
LIBXML_XINCLUDE Use XInclude substitution
LIBXML_ERR_ERROR Get recoverable errors
LIBXML_ERR_FATAL Get fatal errors
LIBXML_ERR_NONE Get no errors
LIBXML_ERR_WARNING Get simple warnings
LIBXML_VERSION Get libxml version (e.g. 20605

or 20617)
LIBXML_DOTTED_VERSION Get dotted libxml version (e.g.

2.6.5 or 2.6.17)
PHP 5 Mail Functions
PHP Mail Introduction

The mail() function allows you to send emails directly from a script.
Requirements
For the mail functions to be available, PHP requires an installed and working email system.
The program to be used is defined by the configuration settings in the php.ini file.
Installation
The mail functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these
functions.
The behavior of the mail functions is affected by settings in php.ini:
mail.add_x_header "0" Add X-PHP- PHP_INI_PERDIR

Originating-
Script that will
include UID of
the script
followed by the
filename. For
PHP 5.3.0 and
above
mail.log NULL The path to a PHP_INI_PERDIR

log file that will
log all mail()
calls. Log
include full path
of script, line
number, To
address and
headers. For
PHP 5.3.0 and
above
SMTP "localhost" Windows only: PHP_INI_ALL

The DNS name
or IP address of
the SMTP
server
smtp_port "25" Windows only: PHP_INI_ALL

The SMTP port
number. For
PHP 4.3.0 and
above
sendmail_from NULL Windows only: PHP_INI_ALL

Specifies the
"from" address
to be used when
sending mail
from mail()
sendmail_path "/usr/sbin/sendmail Specifies where PHP_INI_SYSTEM

-t -i" the sendmail
program can be
found. This
directive works
also under
Windows. If set,
SMTP,
smtp_port and
sendmail_from
are ignored
PHP 5 Mail Functions
ezmlm_hash() Calculates the hash value needed by EZMLM
mail() Allows you to send emails directly from a

script
PHP 5 Math Functions
PHP Math Introduction

The math functions can handle values within the range of integer and float types.
Installation
The PHP math functions are part of the PHP core. No installation is required to use these
functions.
PHP 5 Math Functions
abs() Returns the absolute (positive) value of a

number
acos() Returns the arc cosine of a number
acosh() Returns the inverse hyperbolic cosine of a

number
asin() Returns the arc sine of a number
asinh() Returns the inverse hyperbolic sine of a

number
atan() Returns the arc tangent of a number in

radians
atan2() Returns the arc tangent of two variables x

and y
atanh() Returns the inverse hyperbolic tangent of

a number
base_convert() Converts a number from one number base

to another
bindec() Converts a binary number to a decimal

number
ceil() Rounds a number up to the nearest

integer
cos() Returns the cosine of a number
cosh() Returns the hyperbolic cosine of a number
decbin() Converts a decimal number to a binary

number
dechex() Converts a decimal number to a

hexadecimal number
decoct() Converts a decimal number to an octal
number
deg2rad() Converts a degree value to a radian value
exp() Calculates the exponent of e
expm1() Returns exp(x) - 1
floor() Rounds a number down to the nearest

integer
fmod() Returns the remainder of x/y
getrandmax() Returns the largest possible value

returned by rand()
hexdec() Converts a hexadecimal number to a

decimal number
hypot() Calculates the hypotenuse of a right-angle

triangle
is_finite() Checks whether a value is finite or not
is_infinite() Checks whether a value is infinite or not
is_nan() Checks whether a value is 'not-a-number'

lcg_value() Returns a pseudo random number in a
range between 0 and 1
log() Returns the natural logarithm of a number
log10() Returns the base-10 logarithm of a

number
log1p() Returns log(1+number)
max() Returns the highest value in an array, or

the highest value of several specified
values
min() Returns the lowest value in an array, or

the lowest value of several specified
values
mt_getrandmax() Returns the largest possible value

returned by mt_rand()
mt_rand() Generates a random integer using

Mersenne Twister algorithm
mt_srand() Seeds the Mersenne Twister random

number generator
octdec() Converts an octal number to a decimal

number
pi() Returns the value of PI
pow() Returns x raised to the power of y
rad2deg() Converts a radian value to a degree value
rand() Generates a random integer
round() Rounds a floating-point number
sin() Returns the sine of a number
sinh() Returns the hyperbolic sine of a number
sqrt() Returns the square root of a number
srand() Seeds the random number generator
tan() Returns the tangent of a number
tanh() Returns the hyperbolic tangent of a

number
PHP 5 Predefined Math Constants

Constant Value Description PHP
Version
INF INF The infinite PHP 4
M_E 2.7182818284590452354 Returns e PHP 4
M_EULER 0.57721566490153286061 Returns PHP 4

Euler
constant
M_LNPI 1.14472988584940017414 Returns the PHP

natural 5.2
logarithm
of PI:
log_e(pi)
M_LN2 0.69314718055994530942 Returns the PHP 4

natural
logarithm
of 2: log_e
2
M_LN10 2.30258509299404568402 Returns the PHP 4

natural
logarithm
of 10: log_e
10
M_LOG2E 1.4426950408889634074 Returns the PHP 4

base-2
logarithm
of E: log_2
e
M_LOG10E 0.43429448190325182765 Returns the PHP 4

base-10
logarithm
of E:
log_10 e
M_PI 3.14159265358979323846 Returns Pi PHP 4
M_PI_2 1.57079632679489661923 Returns PHP 4

Pi/2
M_PI_4 0.78539816339744830962 Returns PHP 4

Pi/4
M_1_PI 0.31830988618379067154 Returns PHP 4

1/Pi
M_2_PI 0.63661977236758134308 Returns PHP 4

2/Pi
M_SQRTPI 1.77245385090551602729 Returns the PHP

square root 5.2
of PI:
sqrt(pi)
M_2_SQRTPI 1.12837916709551257390 Returns PHP 4

2/square
root of PI:
2/sqrt(pi)
M_SQRT1_2 0.70710678118654752440 Returns the PHP 4
square root
of 1/2:
1/sqrt(2)
M_SQRT2 1.41421356237309504880 Returns the PHP 4

square root
of 2: sqrt(2)
M_SQRT3 1.73205080756887729352 Returns the PHP

square root 5.2
of 3: sqrt(3)
NAN NAN Not A PHP 4

Number
PHP_ROUND_HALF_UP 1 Round PHP

halves up 5.3
PHP_ROUND_HALF_DOWN 2 Round PHP

halves 5.3
down
PHP_ROUND_HALF_EVEN 3 Round PHP

halves to 5.3
even
numbers
PHP_ROUND_HALF_ODD 4 Round PHP

halves to 5.3
odd
numbers
PHP 5 Misc. Functions
PHP Miscellaneous Introduction

The misc. functions were only placed here because none of the other categories seemed to
fit.
Installation
The misc. functions are part of the PHP core. No installation is required to use these
functions.
The behavior of the misc. functions is affected by settings in the php.ini file.
Misc. configuration options:
Name Description Default Changeable
ignore_user_abort FALSE "0" PHP_INI_ALL

indicates that
scripts will
be terminated
as soon as
they try to
output
something
after a client
has aborted
their
connection
highlight.string Color for "#DD0000" PHP_INI_ALL
highlighting
a string in
PHP syntax
highlight.comment Color for "#FF8000" PHP_INI_ALL

highlighting
PHP
comments
highlight.keyword Color for "#007700" PHP_INI_ALL

syntax
highlighting
PHP
keywords
(e.g.
parenthesis
and
semicolon)
highlight.bg Removed in "#FFFFFF" PHP_INI_ALL

PHP
5.4.0.Color
for
background
highlight.default Default color "#0000BB" PHP_INI_ALL

for PHP
syntax
highlight.html Color for "#000000" PHP_INI_ALL

HTML code
browscap Name and NULL PHP_INI_SYSTEM

location of
browser-
capabilities
file (e.g.
browscap.ini)
PHP Miscellaneous Functions
connection_aborted() Checks whether the client has

disconnected
connection_status() Returns the current connection

status
connection_timeout() Deprecated in PHP 4.0.5. Checks

whether the script has timed out
constant() Returns the value of a constant
define() Defines a constant
defined() Checks whether a constant exists
die() Prints a message and exits the

current script
eval() Evaluates a string as PHP code
exit() Prints a message and exits the

current script
get_browser() Returns the capabilities of the user's

browser
__halt_compiler() Halts the compiler execution
highlight_file() Outputs a file with the PHP syntax

highlighted
highlight_string() Outputs a string with the PHP syntax

highlighted
ignore_user_abort() Sets whether a remote client can

abort the running of a script
pack() Packs data into a binary string
php_check_syntax() Deprecated in PHP 5.0.5
php_strip_whitespace() Returns the source code of a file

with PHP comments and whitespace
removed
show_source() Alias of highlight_file()

sleep() Delays code execution for a number
of seconds
sys_getloadavg() Gets system load average
time_nanosleep() Delays code execution for a number

of seconds and nanoseconds
time_sleep_until() Delays code execution until a

specified time
uniqid() Generates a unique ID
unpack() Unpacks data from a binary string
usleep() Delays code execution for a number

of microseconds
PHP 5 Predefined Misc. Constants

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the constant.
Constant Description PHP
CONNECTION_ABORTED
CONNECTION_NORMAL
CONNECTION_TIMEOUT
__COMPILER_HALT_OFFSET__ 5
PHP 5 MySQLi Functions
PHP MySQLi Introduction

PHP MySQLi = PHP MySQL Improved!
The MySQLi functions allows you to access MySQL database servers.
Note: The MySQLi extension is designed to work with MySQL version 4.1.13 or newer.
Installation / Runtime Configuration

For the MySQLi functions to be available, you must compile PHP with support for the MySQLi
extension.
The MySQLi extension was introduced with PHP version 5.0.0. The MySQL Native Driver was
included in PHP version 5.3.0.
For installation details, go to:http://php.net/manual/en/mysqli.installation.php
For runtime configuration details, go to:http://php.net/manual/en/mysqli.configuration.php
PHP 5 MySQLi Functions
mysqli_affected_rows() Returns the number of

affected rows in the previous
MySQL operation
mysqli_autocommit() Turns on or off auto-

committing database
modifications
mysqli_change_user() Changes the user of the

specified database
connection
mysqli_character_set_name() Returns the default character

set for the database
connection
mysqli_close() Closes a previously opened

database connection
mysqli_commit() Commits the current

transaction
mysqli_connect_errno() Returns the error code from

the last connection error
mysqli_connect_error() Returns the error description

from the last connection error
mysqli_connect() Opens a new connection to

the MySQL server
mysqli_data_seek() Adjusts the result pointer to

an arbitrary row in the result-
set
mysqli_debug() Performs debugging

operations
mysqli_dump_debug_info() Dumps debugging info into

the log
mysqli_errno() Returns the last error code

for the most recent function
call
mysqli_error_list() Returns a list of errors for the

most recent function call
mysqli_error() Returns the last error

description for the most
recent function call
mysqli_fetch_all() Fetches all result rows as an

associative array, a numeric
array, or both
mysqli_fetch_array() Fetches a result row as an

associative, a numeric array,
or both
mysqli_fetch_assoc() Fetches a result row as an

associative array
mysqli_fetch_field_direct() Returns meta-data for a

single field in the result set,
as an object
mysqli_fetch_field() Returns the next field in the
result set, as an object
mysqli_fetch_fields() Returns an array of objects

that represent the fields in a
result set
mysqli_fetch_lengths() Returns the lengths of the

columns of the current row in
the result set
mysqli_fetch_object() Returns the current row of a

result set, as an object
mysqli_fetch_row() Fetches one row from a

result-set and returns it as an
enumerated array
mysqli_field_count() Returns the number of

columns for the most recent
query
mysqli_field_seek() Sets the field cursor to the

given field offset
mysqli_field_tell() Returns the position of the

field cursor
mysqli_free_result() Frees the memory associated

with a result
mysqli_get_charset() Returns a character set object
mysqli_get_client_info() Returns the MySQL client

library version
mysqli_get_client_stats() Returns statistics about client

per-process
mysqli_get_client_version() Returns the MySQL client

library version as an integer
mysqli_get_connection_stats() Returns statistics about the

client connection
mysqli_get_host_info() Returns the MySQL server

hostname and the connection
type
mysqli_get_proto_info() Returns the MySQL protocol

version
mysqli_get_server_info() Returns the MySQL server

version
mysqli_get_server_version() Returns the MySQL server

version as an integer
mysqli_info() Returns information about

the most recently executed
query
mysqli_init() Initializes MySQLi and

returns a resource for use
with mysqli_real_connect()
mysqli_insert_id() Returns the auto-generated id

used in the last query
mysqli_kill() Asks the server to kill a

MySQL thread
mysqli_more_results() Checks if there are more

results from a multi query
mysqli_multi_query() Performs one or more queries

on the database
mysqli_next_result() Prepares the next result set

from mysqli_multi_query()
mysqli_num_fields() Returns the number of fields

in a result set
mysqli_num_rows() Returns the number of rows

in a result set
mysqli_options() Sets extra connect options

and affect behavior for a
connection
mysqli_ping() Pings a server connection, or
tries to reconnect if the
connection has gone down
mysqli_prepare() Prepares an SQL statement

for execution
mysqli_query() Performs a query against the

database
mysqli_real_connect() Opens a new connection to

the MySQL server
mysqli_real_escape_string() Escapes special characters in

a string for use in an SQL
statement
mysqli_real_query() Executes an SQL query
mysqli_reap_async_query() Returns the result from async

query
mysqli_refresh() Refreshes tables or caches, or

resets the replication server
information
mysqli_rollback() Rolls back the current

transaction for the database
mysqli_select_db() Changes the default database
for the connection
mysqli_set_charset() Sets the default client

character set
mysqli_set_local_infile_default() Unsets user defined handler

for load local infile command
mysqli_set_local_infile_handler() Set callback function for

LOAD DATA LOCAL
INFILE command
mysqli_sqlstate() Returns the SQLSTATE

error code for the last
MySQL operation
mysqli_ssl_set() Used to establish secure

connections using SSL
mysqli_stat() Returns the current system

status
mysqli_stmt_init() Initializes a statement and

returns an object for use with
mysqli_stmt_prepare()
mysqli_store_result() Transfers a result set from

the last query
mysqli_thread_id() Returns the thread ID for the
current connection
mysqli_thread_safe() Returns whether the client

library is compiled as thread-
safe
mysqli_use_result() Initiates the retrieval of a

result set from the last query
executed using the
mysqli_real_query()
mysqli_warning_count() Returns the number of

warnings from the last query
in the connection
PHP 5 SimpleXML Functions
PHP SimpleXML Introduction

SimpleXML is an extension that allows us to easily manipulate and get XML data.
SimpleXML provides an easy way of getting an element's name, attributes and textual
content if you know the XML document's structure or layout.
SimpleXML turns an XML document into a data structure you can iterate through like a
collection of arrays and objects.
Installation
As of PHP 5, the SimpleXML functions are part of the PHP core. No installation is required to
use these functions.
PHP 5 SimpleXML Functions
__construct() Creates a new SimpleXMLElement

object
addAttribute() Adds an attribute to the

SimpleXML element
addChild() Adds a child element the

SimpleXML element
asXML() Returns a well-formed XML string
(XML version 1.0) from a
SimpleXML object
attributes() Returns the attributes/values of an

element
children() Returns the children of a specified

node
count() Counts the children of a specified

node
getDocNamespaces() Returns the namespaces

DECLARED in document
getName() Returns the name of the XML tag

referenced by the SimpleXML
element
getNamespaces() Returns the namespaces USED in

document
registerXPathNamespace() Creates a namespace context for the

next XPath query
saveXML() Alias of asXML()
simplexml_import_dom() Returns a SimpleXMLElement

object from a DOM node
simplexml_load_file() Converts an XML file into a

SimpleXMLElement object
simplexml_load_string() Converts an XML string into a

SimpleXMLElement object
xpath() Runs an XPath query on XML data
PHP 5 SimpleXML Iteration Functions
current() Returns the current element
getChildren() Returns the child elements of the current

element
hasChildren() Checks whether the current element has

children
key() Return the current key
next() Moves to the next element

PHP 5 String Functions
PHP 5 String Functions

The PHP string functions are part of the PHP core. No installation is required to use these
functions.
addcslashes() Returns a string with backslashes

in front of the specified characters
addslashes() Returns a string with backslashes

in front of predefined characters
bin2hex() Converts a string of ASCII

characters to hexadecimal values
chop() Removes whitespace or other

characters from the right end of a
string
chr() Returns a character from a

specified ASCII value
chunk_split() Splits a string into a series of

smaller parts
convert_cyr_string() Converts a string from one
Cyrillic character-set to another
convert_uudecode() Decodes a uuencoded string
convert_uuencode() Encodes a string using the

uuencode algorithm
count_chars() Returns information about

characters used in a string
crc32() Calculates a 32-bit CRC for a

string
crypt() One-way string hashing
echo() Outputs one or more strings
explode() Breaks a string into an array
fprintf() Writes a formatted string to a

specified output stream
get_html_translation_table() Returns the translation table used

by htmlspecialchars() and
htmlentities()
hebrev() Converts Hebrew text to visual
text
hebrevc() Converts Hebrew text to visual

text and new lines (\n) into <br>
hex2bin() Converts a string of hexadecimal

values to ASCII characters
html_entity_decode() Converts HTML entities to

characters
htmlentities() Converts characters to HTML

entities
htmlspecialchars_decode() Converts some predefined HTML

entities to characters
htmlspecialchars() Converts some predefined

characters to HTML entities
implode() Returns a string from the elements

of an array
join() Alias of implode()
lcfirst() Converts the first character of a

string to lowercase
levenshtein() Returns the Levenshtein distance
between two strings
localeconv() Returns locale numeric and

monetary formatting information
ltrim() Removes whitespace or other

characters from the left side of a
string
md5() Calculates the MD5 hash of a

string
md5_file() Calculates the MD5 hash of a file
metaphone() Calculates the metaphone key of a

string
money_format() Returns a string formatted as a

currency string
nl_langinfo() Returns specific local information
nl2br() Inserts HTML line breaks in front

of each newline in a string
number_format() Formats a number with grouped

thousands
ord() Returns the ASCII value of the
first character of a string
parse_str() Parses a query string into variables
print() Outputs one or more strings
printf() Outputs a formatted string
quoted_printable_decode() Converts a quoted-printable string

to an 8-bit string
quoted_printable_encode() Converts an 8-bit string to a

quoted printable string
quotemeta() Quotes meta characters
rtrim() Removes whitespace or other

characters from the right side of a
string
setlocale() Sets locale information
sha1() Calculates the SHA-1 hash of a

string
sha1_file() Calculates the SHA-1 hash of a

file
similar_text() Calculates the similarity between

two strings
soundex() Calculates the soundex key of a

string
sprintf() Writes a formatted string to a

variable
sscanf() Parses input from a string

according to a format
str_getcsv() Parses a CSV string into an array
str_ireplace() Replaces some characters in a

string (case-insensitive)
str_pad() Pads a string to a new length
str_repeat() Repeats a string a specified

number of times
str_replace() Replaces some characters in a

string (case-sensitive)
str_rot13() Performs the ROT13 encoding on

a string
str_shuffle() Randomly shuffles all characters

in a string
str_split() Splits a string into an array
str_word_count() Count the number of words in a

string
strcasecmp() Compares two strings (case-

insensitive)
strchr() Finds the first occurrence of a

string inside another string (alias
of strstr())
strcmp() Compares two strings (case-

sensitive)
strcoll() Compares two strings (locale

based string comparison)
strcspn() Returns the number of characters

found in a string before any part of
some specified characters are
found
strip_tags() Strips HTML and PHP tags from a

string
stripcslashes() Unquotes a string quoted with
addcslashes()
stripslashes() Unquotes a string quoted with

addslashes()
stripos() Returns the position of the first

occurrence of a string inside
another string (case-insensitive)
stristr() Finds the first occurrence of a

string inside another string (case-
insensitive)
strlen() Returns the length of a string
strnatcasecmp() Compares two strings using a

"natural order" algorithm (case-
insensitive)
strnatcmp() Compares two strings using a

"natural order" algorithm (case-
sensitive)
strncasecmp() String comparison of the first n

characters (case-insensitive)
strncmp() String comparison of the first n

characters (case-sensitive)
strpbrk() Searches a string for any of a set
of characters
strpos() Returns the position of the first

another string (case-sensitive)
strrchr() Finds the last occurrence of a

string inside another string
strrev() Reverses a string
strripos() Finds the position of the last

another string (case-insensitive)
strrpos() Finds the position of the last

another string (case-sensitive)
strspn() Returns the number of characters

found in a string that contains only
characters from a specified
charlist
strstr() Finds the first occurrence of a

string inside another string (case-
sensitive)
strtok() Splits a string into smaller strings

strtolower() Converts a string to lowercase
letters
strtoupper() Converts a string to uppercase

letters
strtr() Translates certain characters in a

string
substr() Returns a part of a string
substr_compare() Compares two strings from a

specified start position (binary
safe and optionally case-sensitive)
substr_count() Counts the number of times a

substring occurs in a string
substr_replace() Replaces a part of a string with

another string
trim() Removes whitespace or other

characters from both sides of a
string
ucfirst() Converts the first character of a

string to uppercase
ucwords() Converts the first character of

each word in a string to uppercase
vfprintf() Writes a formatted string to a

specified output stream
vprintf() Outputs a formatted string
vsprintf() Writes a formatted string to a

variable
wordwrap() Wraps a string to a given number

of characters
PHP XML Parser Functions
PHP XML Parser Introduction

The XML functions lets you parse, but not validate, XML documents.
XML is a data format for standardized structured document exchange. More information on
XML can be found in our XML Tutorial.
This extension uses the Expat XML parser.
Expat is an event-based parser, it views an XML document as a series of events. When an

event occurs, it calls a specified function to handle it.
Expat is a non-validating parser, and ignores any DTDs linked to a document. However, if
the document is not well formed it will end with an error message.
Because it is an event-based, non validating parser, Expat is fast and well suited for web
applications.
The XML parser functions lets you create XML parsers and define handlers for XML events.
Installation
The XML functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these
functions.
PHP XML Parser Functions

Function Description PHP

utf8_decode() Decodes an 3
UTF-8 string
to ISO-8859-
1
utf8_encode() Encodes an 3
ISO-8859-1
string to
UTF-8
xml_error_string() Gets an error 3

string from
the XML
parser
xml_get_current_byte_index() Gets the 3

current byte
index from
the XML
parser
xml_get_current_column_number() Gets the 3

current
column
number from
the XML
parser
xml_get_current_line_number() Gets the 3

current line
number from
the XML
parser
xml_get_error_code() Gets an error 3
code from
the XML
parser
xml_parse() Parses an 3
XML
document
xml_parse_into_struct() Parse XML 3

data into an
array
xml_parser_create_ns() Create an 4
XML parser
with
namespace
support
xml_parser_create() Create an 3
XML parser
xml_parser_free() Free an 3
XML parser
xml_parser_get_option() Get options 3

from an
XML parser
xml_parser_set_option() Set options 3

in an XML
parser
xml_set_character_data_handler() Set handler 3
function for
character
data
xml_set_default_handler() Set default 3

handler
function
xml_set_element_handler() Set handler 3

function for
start and end
element of
elements
xml_set_end_namespace_decl_handler() Set handler 4

function for
the end of
namespace
declarations
xml_set_external_entity_ref_handler() Set handler 3

function for
external
entities
xml_set_notation_decl_handler() Set handler 3

function for
notation
declarations
xml_set_object() Use XML 4

Parser within
an object
xml_set_processing_instruction_handler() Set handler 3
function for
processing
instruction
xml_set_start_namespace_decl_handler() Set handler 4

function for
the start of
namespace
declarations
xml_set_unparsed_entity_decl_handler() Set handler 3

function for
unparsed
entity
declarations
PHP XML Parser Constants
Constant
XML_ERROR_NONE (integer)
XML_ERROR_NO_MEMORY (integer)
XML_ERROR_SYNTAX (integer)
XML_ERROR_NO_ELEMENTS (integer)
XML_ERROR_INVALID_TOKEN (integer)
XML_ERROR_UNCLOSED_TOKEN (integer)
XML_ERROR_PARTIAL_CHAR (integer)
XML_ERROR_TAG_MISMATCH (integer)
XML_ERROR_DUPLICATE_ATTRIBUTE (integer)
XML_ERROR_JUNK_AFTER_DOC_ELEMENT (integer)
XML_ERROR_PARAM_ENTITY_REF (integer)
XML_ERROR_UNDEFINED_ENTITY (integer)
XML_ERROR_RECURSIVE_ENTITY_REF (integer)
XML_ERROR_ASYNC_ENTITY (integer)
XML_ERROR_BAD_CHAR_REF (integer)
XML_ERROR_BINARY_ENTITY_REF (integer)
XML_ERROR_ATTRIBUTE_EXTERNAL_ENTITY_REF
(integer)
XML_ERROR_MISPLACED_XML_PI (integer)
XML_ERROR_UNKNOWN_ENCODING (integer)
XML_ERROR_INCORRECT_ENCODING (integer)
XML_ERROR_UNCLOSED_CDATA_SECTION (integer)
XML_ERROR_EXTERNAL_ENTITY_HANDLING (integer)
XML_OPTION_CASE_FOLDING (integer)
XML_OPTION_TARGET_ENCODING (integer)
XML_OPTION_SKIP_TAGSTART (integer)
XML_OPTION_SKIP_WHITE (integer)
PHP Zip File Functions
PHP Zip File Introduction

The Zip files functions allows you to read ZIP files.
Installation
For the Zip file functions to work on your server, these libraries must be installed:
 The ZZIPlib library by Guido Draheim: Download the ZZIPlib library

 The Zip PECL extension: Download the Zip PECL extension
Installation on Linux Systems
PHP 5+: Zip functions and the Zip library is not enabled by default and must be
downloaded from the links above. Use the --with-zip=DIR configure option to include Zip
support.
Installation on Windows Systems
PHP 5+: Zip functions is not enabled by default, so the php_zip.dll and the ZZIPlib library
must be downloaded from the link above. php_zip.dll must be enabled inside of php.ini.
To enable any PHP extension, the PHP extension_dir setting (in the php.ini file) should be
set to the directory where the PHP extensions are located. An example extension_dir value
is c:\php\ext.
PHP Zip File Functions

Function Description PHP

zip_close() Closes a ZIP file 4
zip_entry_close() Closes an entry in the 4

ZIP file
zip_entry_compressedsize() Returns the compressed 4

size of an entry in the
ZIP file
zip_entry_compressionmethod() Returns the 4

compression method of
an entry in the ZIP file
zip_entry_filesize() Returns the actual file 4

size of an entry in the
ZIP file
zip_entry_name() Returns the name of an 4

entry in the ZIP file
zip_entry_open() Opens an entry in the 4

ZIP file for reading
zip_entry_read() Reads from an open 4

entry in the ZIP file
zip_open() Opens a ZIP file 4
zip_read() Reads the next entry in 4

a ZIP file
PHP 5 Timezones
PHP Supported Timezones

Below is a complete list of the timezones supported by PHP, which are useful with several
PHP date functions.
 Africa
 America
 Antarctica
 Arctic
 Asia
 Atlantic
 Australia
 Europe
 Indian
 Pacific
Africa
Africa/Abidjan Africa/Accra Africa/Addis_Ababa Africa/Algiers Africa/Asmara
Africa/Asmera Africa/Bamako Africa/Bangui Africa/Banjul Africa/Bissau
Africa/Blantyre Africa/Brazzaville Africa/Bujumbura Africa/Cairo Africa/Casablanca
Africa/Ceuta Africa/Conakry Africa/Dakar Africa/Dar_es_Salaam Africa/Djibouti
Africa/Douala Africa/El_Aaiun Africa/Freetown Africa/Gaborone Africa/Harare

Africa/Johannesburg Africa/Juba Africa/Kampala Africa/Khartoum Africa/Kigali
Africa/Kinshasa Africa/Lagos Africa/Libreville Africa/Lome Africa/Luanda
Africa/Lubumbashi Africa/Lusaka Africa/Malabo Africa/Maputo Africa/Maseru
Africa/Mbabane Africa/Mogadishu Africa/Monrovia Africa/Nairobi Africa/Ndjamena
Africa/Niamey Africa/Nouakchott Africa/Ouagadougou Africa/Porto-Novo Africa/Sao_Tome
Africa/Timbuktu Africa/Tripoli Africa/Tunis Africa/Windhoek
America
America/Adak America/Anchorage America/Anguilla
America/Antigua America/Araguaina America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires
America/Argentina/Catamarca America/Argentina/ComodRivadavia America/Argentina/Cordoba
America/Argentina/Jujuy America/Argentina/La_Rioja America/Argentina/Mendoza

America/Argentina/Rio_Gallegos America/Argentina/Salta America/Argentina/San_Juan
America/Argentina/San_Luis America/Argentina/Tucuman America/Argentina/Ushuaia
America/Aruba America/Asuncion America/Atikokan
America/Atka America/Bahia America/Bahia_Banderas
America/Barbados America/Belem America/Belize
America/Blanc-Sablon America/Boa_Vista America/Bogota
America/Boise America/Buenos_Aires America/Cambridge_Bay
America/Campo_Grande America/Cancun America/Caracas
America/Catamarca America/Cayenne America/Cayman
America/Chicago America/Chihuahua America/Coral_Harbour
America/Cordoba America/Costa_Rica America/Creston
America/Cuiaba America/Curacao America/Danmarkshavn

America/Dawson America/Dawson_Creek America/Denver
America/Detroit America/Dominica America/Edmonton
America/Eirunepe America/El_Salvador America/Ensenada
America/Fort_Wayne America/Fortaleza America/Glace_Bay
America/Godthab America/Goose_Bay America/Grand_Turk
America/Grenada America/Guadeloupe America/Guatemala
America/Guayaquil America/Guyana America/Halifax
America/Havana America/Hermosillo America/Indiana/Indianapolis
America/Indiana/Knox America/Indiana/Marengo America/Indiana/Petersburg
America/Indiana/Tell_City America/Indiana/Vevay America/Indiana/Vincennes
America/Indiana/Winamac America/Indianapolis America/Inuvik
America/Iqaluit America/Jamaica America/Jujuy

America/Juneau America/Kentucky/Louisville America/Kentucky/Monticello
America/Knox_IN America/Kralendijk America/La_Paz
America/Lima America/Los_Angeles America/Louisville
America/Lower_Princes America/Maceio America/Managua
America/Manaus America/Marigot America/Martinique
America/Matamoros America/Mazatlan America/Mendoza
America/Menominee America/Merida America/Metlakatla
America/Mexico_City America/Miquelon America/Moncton
America/Monterrey America/Montevideo America/Montreal
America/Montserrat America/Nassau America/New_York
America/Nipigon America/Nome America/Noronha
America/North_Dakota/Beulah America/North_Dakota/Center America/North_Dakota/New_Salem

America/Ojinaga America/Panama America/Pangnirtung
America/Paramaribo America/Phoenix America/Port-au-Prince
America/Port_of_Spain America/Porto_Acre America/Porto_Velho
America/Puerto_Rico America/Rainy_River America/Rankin_Inlet
America/Recife America/Regina America/Resolute
America/Rio_Branco America/Rosario America/Santa_Isabel
America/Santarem America/Santiago America/Santo_Domingo
America/Sao_Paulo America/Scoresbysund America/Shiprock
America/Sitka America/St_Barthelemy America/St_Johns
America/St_Kitts America/St_Lucia America/St_Thomas
America/St_Vincent America/Swift_Current America/Tegucigalpa
America/Thule America/Thunder_Bay America/Tijuana

America/Toronto America/Tortola America/Vancouver
America/Virgin America/Whitehorse America/Winnipeg
America/Yakutat America/Yellowknife
Antarctica
Antarctica/Casey Antarctica/Davis Antarctica/DumontDUrville Antarctica/Macquarie Antarctica/Maw
Antarctica/McMurdo Antarctica/Palmer Antarctica/Rothera Antarctica/South_Pole Antarctica/Syow
Antarctica/Vostok
Arctic
Arctic/Longyearbyen
Asia
Asia/Aden Asia/Almaty Asia/Amman Asia/Anadyr Asia/Aqtau
Asia/Aqtobe Asia/Ashgabat Asia/Ashkhabad Asia/Baghdad Asia/Bahrain
Asia/Baku Asia/Bangkok Asia/Beirut Asia/Bishkek Asia/Brunei

Asia/Calcutta Asia/Choibalsan Asia/Chongqing Asia/Chungking Asia/Colombo
Asia/Dacca Asia/Damascus Asia/Dhaka Asia/Dili Asia/Dubai
Asia/Dushanbe Asia/Gaza Asia/Harbin Asia/Hebron Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh
Asia/Hong_Kong Asia/Hovd Asia/Irkutsk Asia/Istanbul Asia/Jakarta
Asia/Jayapura Asia/Jerusalem Asia/Kabul Asia/Kamchatka Asia/Karachi
Asia/Kashgar Asia/Kathmandu Asia/Katmandu Asia/Khandyga Asia/Kolkata
Asia/Krasnoyarsk Asia/Kuala_Lumpur Asia/Kuching Asia/Kuwait Asia/Macao
Asia/Macau Asia/Magadan Asia/Makassar Asia/Manila Asia/Muscat
Asia/Nicosia Asia/Novokuznetsk Asia/Novosibirsk Asia/Omsk Asia/Oral
Asia/Phnom_Penh Asia/Pontianak Asia/Pyongyang Asia/Qatar Asia/Qyzylorda
Asia/Rangoon Asia/Riyadh Asia/Saigon Asia/Sakhalin Asia/Samarkand
Asia/Seoul Asia/Shanghai Asia/Singapore Asia/Taipei Asia/Tashkent

Asia/Tbilisi Asia/Tehran Asia/Tel_Aviv Asia/Thimbu Asia/Thimphu
Asia/Tokyo Asia/Ujung_Pandang Asia/Ulaanbaatar Asia/Ulan_Bator Asia/Urumqi
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Asia/Yerevan
Atlantic
Atlantic/Azores Atlantic/Bermuda Atlantic/Canary Atlantic/Cape_Verde Atlantic/Faeroe
Atlantic/Faroe Atlantic/Jan_Mayen Atlantic/Madeira Atlantic/Reykjavik Atlantic/South_Georgia
Atlantic/St_Helena Atlantic/Stanley
Australia
Australia/ACT Australia/Adelaide Australia/Brisbane Australia/Broken_Hill Australia/Canberra
Australia/Currie Australia/Darwin Australia/Eucla Australia/Hobart Australia/LHI
Australia/Lindeman Australia/Lord_Howe Australia/Melbourne Australia/North Australia/NSW
Australia/Perth Australia/Queensland Australia/South Australia/Sydney Australia/Tasmania

Australia/Victoria Australia/West Australia/Yancowinna
Europe
Europe/Amsterdam Europe/Andorra Europe/Athens Europe/Belfast Europe/Belgrade
Europe/Berlin Europe/Bratislava Europe/Brussels Europe/Bucharest Europe/Budapest
Europe/Busingen Europe/Chisinau Europe/Copenhagen Europe/Dublin Europe/Gibraltar
Europe/Guernsey Europe/Helsinki Europe/Isle_of_Man Europe/Istanbul Europe/Jersey
Europe/Kaliningrad Europe/Kiev Europe/Lisbon Europe/Ljubljana Europe/London
Europe/Luxembourg Europe/Madrid Europe/Malta Europe/Mariehamn Europe/Minsk
Europe/Monaco Europe/Moscow Europe/Nicosia Europe/Oslo Europe/Paris
Europe/Podgorica Europe/Prague Europe/Riga Europe/Rome Europe/Samara
Europe/San_Marino Europe/Sarajevo Europe/Simferopol Europe/Skopje Europe/Sofia
Europe/Stockholm Europe/Tallinn Europe/Tirane Europe/Tiraspol Europe/Uzhgorod
Europe/Vaduz Europe/Vatican Europe/Vienna Europe/Vilnius Europe/Volgograd

Europe/Warsaw Europe/Zagreb Europe/Zaporozhye Europe/Zurich
Indian
Indian/Antananarivo Indian/Chagos Indian/Christmas Indian/Cocos Indian/Comoro
Indian/Kerguelen Indian/Mahe Indian/Maldives Indian/Mauritius Indian/Mayotte
Indian/Reunion
Pacific
Pacific/Apia Pacific/Auckland Pacific/Chatham Pacific/Chuuk Pacific/Easter
Pacific/Efate Pacific/Enderbury Pacific/Fakaofo Pacific/Fiji Pacific/Funafuti
Pacific/Galapagos Pacific/Gambier Pacific/Guadalcanal Pacific/Guam Pacific/Honolulu
Pacific/Johnston Pacific/Kiritimati Pacific/Kosrae Pacific/Kwajalein Pacific/Majuro
Pacific/Marquesas Pacific/Midway Pacific/Nauru Pacific/Niue Pacific/Norfolk
Pacific/Noumea Pacific/Pago_Pago Pacific/Palau Pacific/Pitcairn Pacific/Pohnpei
Pacific/Ponape Pacific/Port_Moresby Pacific/Rarotonga Pacific/Saipan Pacific/Samoa

Pacific/Tahiti Pacific/Tarawa Pacific/Tongatapu Pacific/Truk Pacific/Wake
Pacific/Wallis Pacific/Yap

PHP 5 Tutorial: Easy Learning With "Show PHP"

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PHP 5 Tutorial: Easy Learning With "Show PHP"

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PHP 5 Tutorial

PHP is a widely-used, free, and efficient alternative to competitors such as

Easy Learning with "Show PHP"

PHP scripts are executed on the server.

What You Should Already Know

PHP is an amazing and popular language!

It is powerful enough to be at the core of the biggest blogging system on the

What is a PHP File?

What Can PHP Do?

 Find a web host with PHP and MySQL support

Use a Web Host With PHP Support

You do not need to compile anything or install any extra tools.

Because PHP is free, most web hosts offer PHP support.

Set Up PHP on Your Own PC

 install a web server

The official PHP website (PHP.net) has installation instructions for

Basic PHP Syntax

A PHP script starts with <?php and ends with ?>:

The default file extension for PHP files is ".php".

<h1>My first PHP page</h1>

Comments can be used to:

 Let others understand what you are doing

PHP supports several ways of commenting:

# This is also a single-line comment

PHP Case Sensitivity

However; all variable names are case-sensitive.

Test Yourself With Exercises

Variables are "containers" for storing information.

Creating (Declaring) PHP Variables

Think of variables as containers for storing data.

Rules for PHP variables:

Remember that PHP variable names are case-sensitive!

The following example will output the sum of two variables:

PHP is a Loosely Typed Language

PHP Variables Scope

PHP has three different variable scopes:

Global and Local Scope

echo "<p>Variable x outside function is: $x</p>";

// using x outside the function will generate an error

PHP The global Keyword

PHP also stores all global variables in an array called $GLOBALS[index].

The example above can be rewritten like this:

PHP The static Keyword

Note: The variable is still local to the function.

Test Yourself With Exercises

PHP echo and print Statements

The PHP echo Statement

echo "<h2>" . $txt1 . "</h2>";

The PHP print Statement

print "<h2>" . $txt1 . "</h2>";

PHP Data Types

PHP supports the following data types:

Rules for integers:

 An integer must have at least one digit

In the following example $x is an integer. The PHP var_dump() function returns

In the following example $cars is an array. The PHP var_dump() function

// show object properties

PHP NULL Value

Tip: If a variable is created without a value, it is automatically assigned a value

Variables can also be emptied by setting the value to NULL:

A common example of using the resource data type is a database call.

A string is a sequence of characters, like "Hello world!".

PHP String Functions

Get The Length of a String

The output of the code above will be: 12.

Count The Number of Words in a String

The output of the code above will be: 2.

The output of the code above will be: !dlrow olleH.

Search For a Specific Text Within a String

The output of the code above will be: 6.

Replace Text Within a String

The example below replaces the text "world" with "Dolly":

The output of the code above will be: Hello Dolly!

Complete PHP String Reference

Test Yourself With Exercises

echo ("Hello World!");

Exponentiation $x $y Result of raising