Chapter 1 gives an overview of the PHP and Oracle technologies, explaining why you might want to use PHP in conjunction with Oracle.

Chapter 2 covers the basics of using the PHP OCI8 extension to interact with an Oracle database from PHP. It also briefly discusses some popular alternatives to the OCI8 extension to connect to Oracle from within PHP.

Chapter 3 discusses how you can move data processing performed by your PHP/Oracle application into the database by using sophisticated SQL queries, stored PL/SQL subprograms, and database triggers.

Chapter 4 discusses the various mechanisms that can be used to perform transactions with PHP and Oracle.

Chapter 5 examines the object-oriented approach to developing PHP/Oracle applications, as an efficient means to reduce the development time and complexity, and increase the maintainability and flexibility of your applications.

Chapter 6 looks at how to effectively use the security features of both PHP and Oracle together, examining the fundamental aspects of building a secure PHP/Oracle application.

Chapter 7 discusses how to effectively use caching mechanisms available in PHP and Oracle and provides several examples of caching in action.

Chapter 8 explains how to effectively use XML techniques and technologies available in PHP and Oracle when building XML-enabled PHP/Oracle applications.

Chapter 9 shows how to build a SOAP web service exposing the functionality of a PHP/Oracle application, using the PHP SOAP extension and Oracle XML technologies.

Chapter 10 explains how AJAX and some other client-side (browser-side) JavaScript technologies can be used along with the Oracle Database technologies as well as PHP features to improve the responsiveness of PHP/Oracle applications.

Appendix A discusses how to install and configure the PHP and Oracle software components required to follow the book's examples.

Although the book covers only the most popular and up-to-date topic areas on the use of PHP in conjunction with Oracle, the author does not make any assumption about the skill level of the reader. Packed with information in an easy-to-read format, the book is ideal for any PHP developer who deals with Oracle.

In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.

There are three styles for code. Code words in text are shown as follows: "We can include other contexts through the use of the include directive."

A block of code will be set as follows:

<?php
//File: dbtime.php
$dbHost = "localhost";
$dbHostPort="1521";
$dbServiceName = "orcl";

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items will be made bold:

$stmt = oci_parse($conn, $query);
$deptno = '60';
oci_bind_by_name($stmt, ':deptid', $deptno);

oci_define_by_name($stmt, "EMPLOYEE_ID", $empno);

Any command-line input and output is written as follows:

# cp /usr/src/asterisk-addons/configs/cdr_mysql.conf.sample
/etc/asterisk/cdr_mysql.conf

New terms and important words are introduced in a bold-type font. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in our text like this: "clicking the Next button moves you to the next screen".

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