Book Image

The PHP Workshop

By : Jordi Martinez, Alexandru Busuioc, David Carr, Markus Gray, Vijay Joshi, Mark McCollum, Bart McLeod, M A Hossain Tonu
Book Image

The PHP Workshop

By: Jordi Martinez, Alexandru Busuioc, David Carr, Markus Gray, Vijay Joshi, Mark McCollum, Bart McLeod, M A Hossain Tonu

Overview of this book

Do you want to build your own websites, but have never really been confident enough to turn your ideas into real projects? If your web development skills are a bit rusty, or if you've simply never programmed before, The PHP Workshop will show you how to build dynamic websites using PHP with the help of engaging examples and challenging activities. This PHP tutorial starts with an introduction to PHP, getting you set up with a productive development environment. You will write, execute, and troubleshoot your first PHP script using a built-in templating engine and server. Next, you'll learn about variables and data types, and see how conditions and loops help control the flow of a PHP program. Progressing through the chapters, you'll use HTTP methods to turn your PHP scripts into web apps, persist data by connecting to an external database, handle application errors, and improve functionality by using third-party packages. By the end of this Workshop, you'll be well-versed in web application development, and have the knowledge and skills to creatively tackle your own ambitious projects with PHP.
Table of Contents (12 chapters)

What are Data Types?

Values assigned to variables in PHP will be of a set data type. The following are the eight primitive data types:

  • Strings – A simple text-based value
  • Integers – Hold a numeric value, which is a whole number
  • Floats – Hold a numeric value; can be a whole number or decimals
  • Booleans – Hold a single value equating to true or false (1 or 0 is the numeric value of true and false)
  • Arrays – Hold multiple values or other arrays within itself
  • Objects – Hold a more complex data structure
  • Resource – Holds a resource reference; for example, the reference of a function
  • NULL – This value actually means there is no value

Let's now learn about the different types in more detail.

Integers

Integers are whole numbers. Typical examples of working with integers are when specifying quantities in a shopping cart, or as an ID when working with databases (Chapter 7, Data Persistence...