PHP Back-End Development

Introduction to PHP

• History of PHP
• Comparison with dynamic content alternatives (Perl, CGI, ASP, JSP, Servlets , CGI, etc)
• PHP tools and set up (web browser/server, editor, libraries, etc)
• Create a basic PHP Script
• Opening and Closing tags
• PHP as a command line or batch language
• Taking user input (HTML forms)
• Self Referring Forms
• Selecting alternatives
• Use PHP to generate HTTP headers
• Generating HTTP redirects
• Pass PHP variables via the URL
• Debugging Tips
• Where to find PHP documentation

Taking User Input From Forms Via PHP

• Creating forms with PHP
• Security Protection from Cross Site Scripting
• Using the form GET method
• Using the form POST method
• Obtaining data from forms through variables$_REQUEST,$_POSTor$_GET?
• Using hidden fields
• Secure Web Forms (HTTPS and SSL)
• Calling pages from themselves using forms
• Quoting HTML entities in user input

Variables And Expressions In PHP

• Identifiers
• Data Types (integers, floats, strings and booleans)
• Type juggling
• Text constants, interpolation (strings, arrays, objects, functions), here & now documents
• Creating Variables
• Variable assignment
• Variable Scope
• Namespaces
• User-defined Constants
• String constants,variable interpolation into strings
• Array, Object&Function interpolation
• HTTP environment variables
• Magic Constants GLOBALS array
• Variable References

PHP Operators

• Arithmetic Operators
• Logical Operators
• Relational (Comparison) Operators
• The Identity Operator
• The Assignment Operators
• Increment & Decrement Operators
• Bitwise Operators
• Error Suppression Operator
• The Conditional (Ternary) Operator
• The Default Operator
• Execution Operators
• Other Operators
• Assignment Operators
• Operator Precedence and Associativity

Conditional Tests And Events In PHP

• True and Falseif
• Comparing Strings and Numberselseandelseif
• Hierarchical conditions (nestedifstatements)
• The? :Operator
• Comparing for equality or identity
• The switch/case statement
• Alternative Syntax for Control Structures

PHP Flow Control

• Loopswhiledo … while forbreakandcontinue goto  exit

PHP Configuration

• inifile
• ModuleVs CGI Usageregister_globals
• Control of error logging
• Control of resource limits
• Commonly set configurations
• File system securitysafe_mode&open_basedir
• PHP4 compatibility in PHP5
• A glance at upcoming PHP6

PHP Functions

• Purpose of functions
• Built-in functions
• Declaring functions
• Functions Arguments
• Default Arguments
• Arguments – Call by Reference
• Return
• Returning References
• Variable Scope (global vs local)
• Static variables
• Recursion include and require
• Variable function calls

Storing Data In Arrays Using PHP

• What are arrays?
• How and when to use arrays
• Indexing arrays, numeric and hashes
• Initialising arrays
• Using for each
• Add/remove elements from arrays
• One-dimensional arrays
• Multi-dimensional arrays
• References to array elements
• Arrays in forms
• Array operators
• Array related functions

Handling databases with PHP

• Error-handling Strategies
• Connection/disconnection to the database, log in/log out
• Escaping strings in SQL statements
• Including common access functions
• Doing simple SQL queries via PHP
• Building HTML tables using SQL Queries
• Avoiding SQL Injection attacks
• Access to: MySql, MySqli, Oracle & MS-SQL
• Using PEAR DB
• Using PHP Data Objects – PDO
• An Insight to Smart Programming

String Manipulation In PHP

• Substring and [] operators
• Case conversion, trimming
• Formatting output data with sprintf
• Adding & removing backslashes
• Regular expressions
• Meta characters: character classes, repetitions
• Regular Expression Examples
• Alternation and Grouping

Sessions And Cookies In PHP

• What is a session?
• Dependencies on thephp.ini file
• Understanding PHP session variables
• Create a PHP session variable
• Register and modify PHP session variables
• Putting PHP session IDs in pages
• Good Practise with sessions and PHP
• Cookie properties
• Setting a cookie in PHP
• Retrieving PHP cookies
• Expiring/Deleting PHP cookies
• Drawbacks to cookies
• Using cookies well
• Testing for cookie support
• Sessions without cookies
• Cookie Security Issues

File And Directory Access Using PHP

• Opening files, local and remote
• Reading & writing and moving about in filesfflush(),file(),fpassthru(),readfile()
• PHP portability on different Operating Systems
• Finding file metadata: size, ownership, modification time
• Handling file permissions
• Handling file ownership
• Copying, Renaming and Deleting Files
• File locking
• Opening and reading directories
• File uploads from the browser/user

Other I/O Issues In PHP

• Getting IP addresses from visitors
• Getting referring URLs from visitors
• Environment variables
• Showing different content to different browsers (IE, Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, etc)
• Handling HTTP and MIME headers

Object Orientation In PHP

• Object basics
• Classes in PHP
• PHP4 – constructors
• PHP5 – constructors and destructors
• Inheritance
• Accessing instance data and functions_sleepand_wakeup_autoload
• Class constants
• PHP5 OO Additions,type hints,foreach,autoload
• PHP 5.4 instantiate & member access
• Objects: Assignments and Referencestry,throwcatchexception handling

Database-Extended

• The database behind the application
• Designing the database
• Metadata management
• Entity-relationship (ER) diagrams
• ER Diagram example
• Data Modelling tools
• Users to access the database
• Creating the databases & tables
• Creating test data

Create & Edit Data

• Creating & editing data
• Creating& editing are much the same
• Use the same names everywhere
• outline use of a HTML_QuickForm2form
• Adding fields to the form
• Field validation
• Validation types
• Smarty Template withHTML_QuickForm2
• Form validation and processing
• Display of validation errors

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Understand the Fundamentals of PHP – Grasp core syntax, data types, operators, control structures, and functions.
• Develop Dynamic Web Applications – Build interactive websites that respond to user input and server-side logic.
• Work with Forms and Sessions – Process user data securely using forms, sessions, and cookies.
• Integrate PHP with MySQL – Perform CRUD operations by connecting PHP applications to MySQL databases.
• Apply Secure Coding Practices – Write secure PHP code to prevent common vulnerabilities like SQL injection and XSS.
• Use Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) – Structure code using classes and objects for better modularity and reuse.
• Build and Consume RESTful APIs – Create backend services that can be consumed by front-end apps or third-party systems.
• Deploy PHP Applications – Understand the basics of deploying a PHP application to a web server.

This course is designed to help you become a confident, capable back-end developer ready for real-world web projects.

This course is ideal for:

• Aspiring Web Developers – Individuals looking to start a career in web development with a focus on back-end technologies.
• Computer Science & IT Students – Students seeking to strengthen their practical skills in server-side programming and web application development.
• Junior Front-End Developers – Developers who want to expand their knowledge into full-stack development by learning how the server side works.
• Career Switchers – Professionals from non-technical backgrounds aiming to transition into tech and software development.
• Self-Taught Programmers – Individuals who have basic web knowledge and want structured, project-based training in PHP and MySQL.
• Freelancers & Entrepreneurs – Those building custom web solutions or dynamic websites for clients or personal projects.

No matter your background, if you want to master back-end development and build dynamic, database-driven websites, this course is a solid foundation.