PHP Programming 101

The first post had you making a program that was equivalent to the “Hello World” program used for teaching basics of a programming language and here’s how it worked. When the script was requested by opening the web page, Apache intercepted the request and passed it onto PHP which parsed the script looking for the code in between the terminators and then doing the requested operation which was to display the text contained within the echo command. This result was given back to the server then again to the client. The output contained a valid HTML so the browser was able to understand it and execute the requested operation.

INFORM THE USERS ABOUT INPUT LIMITS
When your database has a field limit, situate a size limit on a text box – this stops people from entering too much text only to find out that their data has been trimmed down by your database.

KEEP FORMS SHORT
Never make forms too long and verbose- this may cause confusion to people and may intimidate them.

TELL THEM WHERE THEY ARE
In case of splitting forms by pages, it is a good idea to let your visitors know how far they are through the process of form submission. This lets people know where they are at the process all times.

ERROR HANDLING
When there is an error within a field, always put a notice next to it and a message at the top indicating the user about the error – if you don’t put the message at the top, people will not notice that there is an error, and if you don’t put a notice near the problem field, people might not tell it from the others.

MARKING NECESSARY FIELDS
Always mark required fields – either with bold text, or, more commonly, an asterisk *. This is to make the users aware that the essential fields must first be satisfied before proceeding to the next step.

To be continued…

The use of forms is the main method in which users can send data to the scripts, so it is essential to get them right. Aside from the coding aspect of forms, there are a number of basic usability guidelines to follow to further improve the effectivity:

TABLES

The use of tables will make the layout of the elements appear neat and organized. Tables make the form easier to read, and it would also be easier to report individual errors that occur on fields. Also tables can also be utilized to give the form a design that would be pleasing to the eye without sacrificing practicality.

To be continued…

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On the other hand, Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS) is a group of internet servers which has additional fetures for Microsoft operating system such as Windows NT and windows 2000 operating system servers. IIS can’t use Java, Perl and PHP on a .Net platform because Microsoft doesn’t support those technologies but Web developers can use Microsoft’s Active Server Page (ASP)technology otherwise. IIS has server administrators which include console from which all services and users can be administered. According to www.microsoft.com “I IS 6.0 which is redesigned with a new fault-tolerant process architecture that greatly boosts the reliability of Web sites and applications. IIS 6.0 isolates Web sites and applications into self-contained units called application pools, which separate applications from the other applications that are hosted on the same server.” Now i give you free hand to choose on what server you want to use? IIS or APACHE?

Image Source: www.trustis.com

Apache is an open source http server named after the Native American. It is then first release in the year 1995. Now a day, Apache is considered as the most used http server in the world. It is compatible with almost all operating systems like Linux, Windows, Mac and etc. Almost anyone can adopt with this http server because of its source code is freely available. The Apache 2.0 which comes with a new Windows optimization technology called the Apache Portable Runtime (APR) while previous Apache version were not optimized for Windows. Apache developers can use Java, Perl and PHP on a .Net platform.

to be continued…

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MySQL is a Database Management System (DBMS) that is released in May of 1995. It’s commonly use for web applications and acts as the database component of different Platforms such as Linux/BSD/Mac/W-A-M-P/Perl/Python and for open-source bug tracking tools like bugzilla. MySQL are essential components of content management systems such as Joomla, Word Press, Drupal and some Bit Torrent trackers that is written in PHP and uses a MySQL database. The latest MySQL product version is the MySQL 5.0 that is launched last August 2007. It has two different variants such as MySQL Community Server and MySQL Enterprise Server. And soon to release is the MySQL 5.1.

Image Source: www.openlife.cc

Several factors are to be considered should one be involved with deploying projects over the internet. One of the things you could do would be to have a nifty script that checks for the particular browser your clients might be using. This can be done with a simple and short piece of code that can mean the difference between a successful deployment without problems allowing proper extensions and plugins to be included. A sample of the code can be seen below for your reference which makes it easier for your program/web page to know which set of scripts and what parameters to adhere with. (more…)

The web publishing platform is the most used blogging platform the world over, many thanks to PHP, the scripting language on which it has been published and is continuously being improved upon. Many in the open-sourced community have however been saying that there are still a lot of vulnerabilities with the system that uses code injection and many more that the many developers who have been developing and deploying it that remains to be fixed. Many of these target their AdSense links that is being used to boost rankings for bogus sites. The web is filled with pits and holes that are constantly being fixed with newer versions of the platform coming out to address these issues. (more…)

One of the best companies that have been developing tools for PHP, Zend has continued to provide solutions such as development tools and community resources to help developers and budding programmers the world over. Their enterprise edition ZendCore offers developers the stacks they need along with the tools you get from their web site to get you down and fast to developing web applications and pages in minutes. Ideal for enterprise applications, they offer valuable enhancements to the development stage with tools and many other useful tips for all. (more…)