Preface
PHP is the engine behind millions of dynamic web applications. Its
broad feature set, approachable syntax, and support for different
operating systems and web servers have made it an ideal language for
both rapid web development and the methodical construction of complex
systems.
One of the major reasons for PHP's success as a web
scripting language is its origins as a tool to process HTML forms and
create web pages. This makes PHP very web-friendly. Additionally, it
is a polyglot. PHP can speak to a multitude of databases, and it
knows numerous Internet protocols. PHP also makes it simple to parse
browser data and make HTTP requests. This web-specific focus carries
over to the recipes and examples in the PHP
Cookbook.
This book is a collection of solutions to common tasks in PHP.
We've tried to include material that will appeal to
everyone from newbies to wizards. If we've
succeeded, you'll learn something (or perhaps many
things) from the PHP Cookbook. There are tips in
here for everyday PHP programmers as well as for people coming to PHP
with experience in another language.
PHP, in source-code and binary forms, is available for download for
free from http://www.php.net/. The PHP web site
also contains installation instructions, comprehensive documentation,
and pointers to online resources, user groups, mailing lists, and
other PHP resources.
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