Introduction to PHP Training (PHP101)

This PHP course is designed to give you a comprehensive understanding of PHP, a powerful server-side scripting language widely used to create dynamic and interactive websites. Whether you’re new to programming or you’re looking to strengthen your PHP skills, this course will take you from the basics to more advanced concepts, providing practical knowledge you can apply directly to your work environment.

We begin with PHP Basics, which introduces you to the server-side of web development, starting with how web servers function and their role in delivering dynamic websites. You'll get acquainted with Google Chrome DevTools, specifically the Network tab for understanding status codes, and learn the ins and outs of how PHP operates, including configuring the php.ini file and writing your first PHP script. Topics such as PHP statements, whitespace, functions, and the use of php.net for documentation are covered in a way that's accessible to beginners.

The next module dives into Variables, where you'll explore variable types, naming conventions, and the concept of type juggling and type casting. You'll understand the differences between single and double quotes, how to concatenate strings, and how to pass variables through the URL. Later, you'll build on this knowledge with user-defined functions, learning to define and call functions, set default values, and distinguish between passing by reference and passing by value.

In Including Files, you’ll learn how to use require and require_once directives to manage code more efficiently by including external files. You'll also discover how to use constants and handle errors through error reporting and displaying error messages, ensuring your code is robust and less prone to failures.

The course continues with PHP Conditionals, essential for controlling the flow of your PHP programs. You’ll cover various conditional statements, such as if, if-else, and switch-case, and understand falsy values and testing for variable existence. Moreover, the course introduces the ternary and null coalescing operators to simplify your conditional expressions.

Next, you'll study Arithmetic Operators and Loops. This lesson covers arithmetic and modulus operators and introduces different looping constructs, including while, do...while, and for loops, as well as how to effectively use break and continue statements.

The module on Arrays goes into detail about different types of arrays, such as indexed, associative, and multi-dimensional arrays. You’ll learn how to initialize, append, read, and loop through these arrays, in addition to using built-in array manipulation functions.

In Working with Databases, you'll be guided through the concepts of objects, attributes, behaviors, and classes, and learn how to connect to a database using PDO. You'll practice querying records, adding pagination, and implementing sorting and filtering right within your PHP scripts, using a sample Poetree database for hands-on experience.

The course also includes a comprehensive look at Exception Handling. You'll learn how to manage uncaught exceptions, throw and catch custom exceptions, and handle errors specifically related to database operations with PDOExceptions.

PHP and HTML Forms covers how to handle HTML form submissions securely, by sanitizing and validating form data. You’ll explore methods such as htmlspecialchars(), htmlentities(), and filter_var(), ensuring user input is safe and reliable.

The lesson on Sending Email with PHP introduces you to the built-in mail() function and the more advanced PHPMailer library. You’ll set up a mail server and use PHPMailer to send emails, including creating a contact form and customizing email methods and properties.

Next, the module on Authentication with PHP and SQL teaches you how to create a secure registration and login system using sessions and cookies. You’ll also cover password management, implementing form-based authentication, and handling session variables.

The hands-on Lab focuses on inserting, updating, and deleting poems in the Poetree database, giving you real-world experience with CRUD operations within a PHP environment.

The final lesson on Uploading Files shows you how to handle file uploads through HTML forms, including resizing images and uploading profile pictures, to complete your PHP toolkit.

By the end of this course, you’ll have a firm grasp of PHP fundamentals and the ability to build dynamic, server-side web applications. You’ll be equipped with practical skills to make your web projects more interactive and responsive, laying a strong foundation for further PHP or full-stack development endeavors.