For Dummies PHP and MySQL, 4th Edition 978-0-470-52758-0 Manuel D’Utilisation
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978-0-470-52758-0
Chapter 1
Introduction to PHP and MySQL
In This Chapter
▶
Finding out what a Web database application is
▶
Discovering how MySQL works
▶
Taking a look at PHP
▶
Finding out how PHP and MySQL work together
S
o you need to develop an interactive Web site. Perhaps your boss just
put you in charge of the company’s online product catalog. Or you want
put you in charge of the company’s online product catalog. Or you want
to develop your own Web business. Or your sister wants to sell her paintings
online. Or you volunteered to put up a Web site open only to members of
your circus acrobats’ association. Whatever your motivation might be, you
can see that the application needs to store information (such as information
about products or member passwords), thus requiring a database. You can
see also that the application needs to interact dynamically with the user; for
instance, the user selects a product to view or enters membership informa-
tion. This type of Web site is a Web database application.
online. Or you volunteered to put up a Web site open only to members of
your circus acrobats’ association. Whatever your motivation might be, you
can see that the application needs to store information (such as information
about products or member passwords), thus requiring a database. You can
see also that the application needs to interact dynamically with the user; for
instance, the user selects a product to view or enters membership informa-
tion. This type of Web site is a Web database application.
I assume that you’ve created static Web pages before, using HTML
(HyperText Markup Language), but creating an interactive Web site is a new
challenge, as is designing a database. You asked three computer gurus you
know what you should do. They said a lot of things you didn’t understand,
but among the technical jargon, you heard “quick” and “easy,” and “free”
mentioned in the same sentence as PHP and MySQL. Now you want to know
more about using PHP and MySQL to develop the Web site that you need.
(HyperText Markup Language), but creating an interactive Web site is a new
challenge, as is designing a database. You asked three computer gurus you
know what you should do. They said a lot of things you didn’t understand,
but among the technical jargon, you heard “quick” and “easy,” and “free”
mentioned in the same sentence as PHP and MySQL. Now you want to know
more about using PHP and MySQL to develop the Web site that you need.
PHP and MySQL work together very well; it’s a dynamic partnership. In this
chapter, you find out the advantages of each, how each one works, and how
they work together to produce a dynamic Web database application.
chapter, you find out the advantages of each, how each one works, and how
they work together to produce a dynamic Web database application.
What Is a Web Database Application?
An application is a program or a group of programs designed for use by an
end user (for example, customers, members, or circus acrobats). If the end
user interacts with the application via a Web browser, the application is a
end user (for example, customers, members, or circus acrobats). If the end
user interacts with the application via a Web browser, the application is a
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