PHP MySQL Website Programming

Alan Knowles writes "Ever started looking for a PHP script to solve that problem in your company - Managing the passwords, keeping track of equipment, or making information available on the web. Normally after a few hours of hunting, you track down something that looks close to what you want, you download it, get it going, then start digging around the code. At this point, you cringe in fear of two problems, the spaghetti mess that you are about to deploy, the ongoing maintenance nightmare and the horrors of modifying it to fit your needs. Well this book isn't going to solve these issues, but at least if a few more of those budding open source developers read it, the world would be a better place." Read on for the rest of this review; Yes, the book is still available. PHP MySQL Website Programming Problem - Design - Solution author Chris Lea, Mike Buzzard, Jessey White-Cinis, Dilip Thomas pages 504 publisher Apress rating 9 reviewer Alan Knowles ISBN 1861008279 summary Effective learning through the Problem, Design, Solution approach

In brief: This book takes you through designing a PHP website, featuring the usual bundle of generic features, simple content management, adverts, forums and an on-line shop. It's not intended as a definitive codebase of the absolute best design, but fills a big gap between trying to develop PHP with functions and lots of include files, and the full Computer Science bible of Design patterns.

For those people (and there's a lot of them) who have grown from Word macros and Visual Basic, then had a lot of fun learning PHP, this book provides an excellent gentle path towards using classes in PHP and applying them to real world problems. Like a lot of Wrox books, it's jam-packed with code, with a good flow of new information in each chapter.

What I liked

As a programmer who many years ago swore blind that there was no reason for using classes and objects on websites (the equivalent to a misspent youth), this book gives good clear examples on how they can provide advantages over just 'include' and a few functions.

The book is enjoyable to read; it focuses on the step-by-step delivery of a very dynamic website,starting with the basics of designing the file layout and how the files will work together. It then goes into more detail on delivering each feature, provides enough general ideas to help most PHP enthusiasts and budding developers understand the basics and advantages of OOP programming (although there are a few functions thrown in to ease in those not conversant with OOP).

The website that you learn to create (using the Problem - Design - Solution approach) is available for you to see online here.

Although a lot of the code is focused around implementing a reasonably simple set of Patterns, Data Objects and Page execution scripts, there are a few gems in there.

• Utilizing quite a few PEAR classes including the Database abstraction layer, Mail Sending.
• A nice section on the basics of RSS and XML, not to detailed level, but a good warmup for anyone coming from a System Admin or Simple Visual Basic level.

Ok, It's not for everyone. If you've done any Java or C++, this book is going to be a bit below you. Design Patterns are not mentioned directly in the book, although a number are implemented. The book misses out on quite a few important ideas, like templating php sessions in the body, although it does touch on the subject near the end. Given the target audience, of PHP of beginner to intermediate level, it does have a few unusual code styles in places, which hopefully the readers will not over-apply.

What you will learn from this book

• Elements required to build a useful 3-tier web application
• Design and construct an interactive User Interface (UI)
• Provide a CMS environment to manage content securely and extensively
• Create visitor accounts, to register and manage unique site visitors
• Build a simple news management and delivery system
• Create a syndication application
• Generate a sustainable revenue stream from advertising
• Implement an online visitor poll
• Create a fully featured discussion forum
• Build an online shopping cart system with checkout features

Summary While personally this isn't the book for me, as I've learned far too much PHP for my own good, it's the book you wish half the sourceforge PHP project coders would read before starting their project, saving you a wasted download. In the end it's ideally suited to a PHP website development training course, and could almost be the course book. (However, it's better written than most of the school books I remember).

You can purchase PHP MySQL Website Programming from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

Comments

Who needs this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously, a college education in MIS provided everything you need to create a fully scalable, multifacted, fully functional e-commerce portal to create new paradigms of customer interaction.

Why WOULD you use classes and objects?

[FyRE666]

Although I use Java, where OOP is hard to avoid (and I wouldn't want to most of the time), I don't see the need to introduce the performance sapping abstraction of setting up classes and so forth with web scripts.

Let's face it, by the time you've declared you classes, instanced everything a procedural approach would probably have executed and be wating for the next client...

Re:Why WOULD you use classes and objects?

[SweetAndSourJesus]

Portable code. It's nice to be able to reuse components.

Ease of use. Once you've got your objects rolled up, just plug em in and go.

Uhm, do I really have to explain the benefits of object oriented programming?

The performance hit is something of an issue, but I think it's going to be resolved with the Zend 2.0 engine in PHP5.

Re:Why WOULD you use classes and objects?

[ajs]

You missed the point of using an OO design model entirely. In fact, if these are the reasons you're using OO methodologies (much less language tools), you should probably stop.
You cite:

• Portable code [...] reuse components -- Beyond the fact that the word "portable" is mis-used here, you're invoking the myth of OO reuse. Far better men (and women) than I have refuted this point, but I'll just summarize by saying that code reuse is not a feature of OO programming. It's a feature of modularity and quality of design. It's also very, very rare outside of library and toolkit design where it's always been, before and after the OO craze.
• Once you've got your objects [...] plug em in -- That's called modularity. Not an OO feature, but a design feature.
• Uhm, do I really have to explain the benefits of object oriented programming? -- No, they're well understood... er, or so I thought...

So what are they?

They're the building-blocks of OO, and the benefit is the flexibility that those building blocks give you. If you're a good programmer who writes procedural code, you'll usually find these features seeping into your programs anyway. Languages with OO features just make it easier to apply them. They are polymorphism (you know how to deal with a "car", so you don't have to read the manual to start up a "compact car"), inheritance (a "Pinto" is a "compact car" with some special differences like its own version of the "react to rear-impact" event) and encapsulation (a "car" has a "dashboard", a complex object with behaviors of its own). IMHO, polymorphism is the most powerful and valuable of these, though many will focus on inheritance, which is deeply tied to polymorphism anyway, so YMMV.

Sounds familiar? :-)

[tcr]

Build a simple news management and delivery system

Generate a sustainable revenue stream from advertising

Implement an online visitor poll

Create a fully featured discussion forum

?????

Profit!!

PHP Design

[liveD ehT]

I have been saying for years now that PHP design needs to be somewhat standardized so that we can all make our mods fit better. What I would like to eventually be able to do is have a framework opensource for a community/news-driven website that quickly figured out my needs, and my customer's needs, with security as a front-running concern. (ie: a way to really mix up the vars/dbvars and such so that it's harder to pry it open)

The problem is that with security, the very best possible way to keep your site secure is to a) purify incoming data and b) keep your source to yourself unless you want people to let you know where the bugs/holes are. I know the open source community is really good and has it's place, but when it comes right down to it, if you fully customize your PHP, then it's more secure because there aren't a bunch of script kiddies looking for ways to hack you on security forums (a la PHPBB script attacks). The good thing about PHP in the open source sense is that you can read it and understand how it works. I don't recommend using any custom packages because there is risk involved that your doing so is going to attract attention from script kiddies. The best thing you could do is learn PHP by the open source examples (run phpbb and read it, run smarty and read it - understand it) but then create your own base, and add your own layers to it.

Re:PHP Design

[Mr Bill]

The problem is that with security, the very best possible way to keep your site secure is to a) purify incoming data and b) keep your source to yourself unless you want people to let you know where the bugs/holes are.

The problem with this philosophy is that it allow you to be sloppy with your code. You might start out with great intentions of keeping the code clean, but without the fear of ridicule associated with peer review, you will start to slip to catch that deadline.

Knowing other people are going to see the code is the best way to keep a programmer in line. An artist is not going to show all the crap they come up with to the world. They pick their best work and share it because they are proud of it.

Now if only I could adhere to this philosophy myself...

Hold it right there!

[Anonymous Coward]

"For those people (and there's a lot of them) who have grown from Word macros and Visual Basic, then had a lot of fun learning PHP"

What do you mean, "fun learning PHP?" I'm a Microsoft guy and there's only one way for me... the Microsoft way. Buddy, I think you should be talking about ASP and VBScript, the nectar of the gods.

I started my career hacking up Word macros, then slowly picked up Visual Basic. I can't wait to see what Microsoft has in store for me next. Maybe Visual C#? Hmmm... I won't touch anything non-Microsoft with a ten foot pole, because Microsoft always comes out with the best cool shit and I'm a big fan.

I don't know why you people can't just accept Microsoft and all its products and move on with life.

Two Problems?

[Anonymous Coward]

At this point, you cringe in fear of two problems, the spaghetti mess that you are about to deploy, the ongoing maintenance nightmare and the horrors of modifying it to fit your needs.

There are three types of people in the world: those who can count, and those who can't.

Classes?

[symbolic]

As a programmer who many years ago swore blind that there was no reason for using classes and objects on website

I put together a javascript/php-based web aministration tool for a web site, that without classes, would have been a nightmare. Classes aren't necessary in every case, but when the problem space reaches a certain level of complexity, NOT using them can be a very poor choice. But then, after one decides that classes would be appropriate, using them effectively is a whole different ball game.

build great code like this

[DrSkwid]

/></td>

in 24 hours

Object Oriented Classes

[DarkHelmet]

I do use PHP classes in some of the code that I create. I do not use it for everything I do, but there are a couple things that I find where it makes my life easier.

My biggest gripe about PHP in regards to classes is that you CANNOT create a deconstructor function in your classes. Their reasoning is that they cannot make it where you know which order the deconstructors will be called.

Instead, the workaround is to create a function to handle the script ending using register_shutdown_function(). This is incredibly annoying, and for the most part I don't even use it. It just forces me to write a function called ClosePage or something to that effect.

I like classes, and it's worth at least looking into using them on your pages (at least for code you'll be constantly reusing). For those of you who are concerned about speed in using classes, get PHPA.

Hopefully PHP5 will fix some of the issues in using classes in this language. But until then, be hesitant.

Don't bother

[larry bagina]

There are 4 authors, and I'm not sure there was even 1 editor. Like many multi-authored books, half the chapters are spent repeating information that will be reworded by the next author. Maybe they could get jobs as slshdot editors? :)

The example code is contrived and ignores a lot of real world problems. Of course, if you're writing a shopping cart of your own, you won't learn anything new here. If you don't know php and want to add some dynamic content to your web pages, it's a good book, though.

Re:Sounds familiar? :-)

[red_dragon]

To those familiar with it, #5 obviously is:

• Sell it all to Andover.

Not just a PHP problem

[phorm]

With understanding that this article is a reference to a PHP book (and the more books to educate the undereducated... the better), the problem with shite code samples extends far beyond PHP.

Part of the reason it applies so readily to this language, however, is the conceived ease-of-use. A lot of newbie users swap to PHP, pick up some bad samples, combine with existing bad habits they never grow out of, and eventually consider themselves "knowledgable" just to to long-term use. However, experience in duration != experience in education (standardization, etc).

To shift the blame from PHP, I've been working on attempting to integrate a 3rd-party web-based system (Perl-base) into my place of work. At first, I looked at the code and estimated that I could do it relatively easily. What I neglected to realize, is that while some of the coding was done reasonably well... this seems to be a multi-person project and other sections are nightmarishly and un-necessarily complex.

We need an article on "signs that you're working with bad code." So far I've found...

• Poor indentation
• Low commentation (for godsakes, use # and throw in at least a few words every now and then
• Really ambiguous variable names: $x1, $x2, $blah, $stuff
• Odd information passing: As a delimited string...which is interpreted differently based on certain conditions (contents of string may vary)

Maybe we need a "warning signs" section. Anyone got one?

PHP frameworks

[tetranz]

There are several promising PHP frameworks in development.

Ports of Struts
PHP.MVC
Phrame

And ezPublish 3 which is primarily a CMS but can also be used as a general purpose framework.

IMHO for one of these to really take off (like Struts) is what professional PHP development needs.

Repeat troll

[skillet-thief]

I think this guy has a Perl script that automatically posts the same troll each time a php related story comes up. This is at least the third time I've seen this exact same text. At least it is posted as AC this time, usually it is posted by egg_troll or something like that.

The astonishing thing is that it continues to work!

Shopping cart is a terrible example

[MemeRot]

Checked out the shopping cart feature first, since I've coded a ton of shopping carts.

TERRIBLE!
I type in 9999999 (ad infinitum) in the quantity field and hit update.

My quantity is mysteriously changed to 147483647. I'm just guessing that's the limit of signed ints on that server. No error message was displayed. Since the size of the field that displays the quantity box is 3, all you see is '214'. An end user of an e-comm site doesn't care what's behind the scenes, they care that the inputs/outputs make sense. This doesn't. The reviewer talked about Design Patterns. Who cares? On the web the first rule you need to follow to have a reliable application is 'Validate user data'. Do that obsessively and you'll probably be ok even if your back end isn't too slick. Fail to do that and you are sunk, no matter how efficient your code is.

Then just to be sure I wasn't being too harsh, I ordered -3 of another movie. Works fine. So you can order three of one movie, -3 of another, and get them for free. Sorry.... a shopping cart without data validation (tedious as it is) isn't a shopping cart.

I hit continue and am told I need to have an account first. I sign up for one. First thing - I'm prompted for my login. Grrr... pet peeve - maintain this in the session please. Then I'm not redirected back to the cart. Oops... lost sale there. So I continue.... lovely, I'm informed that "Error_ Your shipping info is not valid." Man... insulting too. I hate apps that set a user up to fail.... and this does. I update my shipping address as prompted... and nothing happens, I don't go back to the flow of purchasing. Yikes, another lost sale. Even on the last step, my -19.99 order is accepted with no problems.

I know the shopping cart is being offered as an example only.... but c'mon, it should be a workable example. I am looking to learn PHP, but think I'll look elsewhere.