Book Image

PHP 7 Data Structures and Algorithms

By : Mizanur Rahman
5 (1)
Book Image

PHP 7 Data Structures and Algorithms

5 (1)
By: Mizanur Rahman

Overview of this book

PHP has always been the the go-to language for web based application development, but there are materials and resources you can refer to to see how it works. Data structures and algorithms help you to code and execute them effectively, cutting down on processing time significantly. If you want to explore data structures and algorithms in a practical way with real-life projects, then this book is for you. The book begins by introducing you to data structures and algorithms and how to solve a problem from beginning to end using them. Once you are well aware of the basics, it covers the core aspects like arrays, listed lists, stacks and queues. It will take you through several methods of finding efficient algorithms and show you which ones you should implement in each scenario. In addition to this, you will explore the possibilities of functional data structures using PHP and go through advanced algorithms and graphs as well as dynamic programming. By the end, you will be confident enough to tackle both basic and advanced data structures, understand how they work, and know when to use them in your day-to-day work
Table of Contents (14 chapters)

Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms

We are living in a digital era. In every segment of our life and daily needs, we have a significant use of technology. Without technology, the world will virtually stand still. Have you ever tried to find what it takes to prepare a simple weather forecast? Lots of data are analyzed to prepare simple information, which is delivered to us in real time. Computers are the most important find of the technology revolution and they have changed the world drastically in the last few decades. Computers process these large sets of data and helps us in every technology-dependent task and need. In order to make computer operation efficient, we represent data in different formats or we can call in different structures, which are known as data structures.

Data structures are very important components for computers and programming languages. Along with data structures, it is also very important to know how to solve a problem or find a solution using these data structures. From our simple mobile phone contact book to complex DNA profile matching systems, the use of data structures and algorithms is everywhere.

Have we ever thought that standing in a superstore queue to payout can be a representation of data structure? Or taking out a bill from a pile of papers can be another use of data structure? In fact, we are following data structure concepts almost everywhere in our lives. Whether we are managing the queue to pay the bill or to get to the transportation, or maintaining a stack for a pile of books or papers for daily works, data structures are everywhere and impacting our lives.

PHP is a very popular scripting language and billions of websites and applications are built using it. People use Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) for simple applications to very complex ones and some are very data intensive. The big question is--should we use PHP for any data intensive application or algorithmic solutions? Of course we should. With the new release of PHP 7, PHP has entered into new possibilities of efficient and robust application development. Our mission will be to show and prepare ourselves to understand the power of data structures and algorithms using PHP 7, so that we can utilize it in our applications and programs.