Server-side

Scripting
using PHP (part 1)
UECS2094/UECS2194
WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

1
What You Should Already
Know
Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

2
Introduction
 PHP is an acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor“
 PHP is a widely-used, open source scripting language
 PHP scripts are executed on the server
 PHP is free to download and use

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What is a PHP File?
 PHP files can contain text, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP code

 PHP code are executed on the server, and the result is returned to the browser as
plain HTML

 PHP files have extension ".php"

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What Can PHP Do?
 PHP can generate dynamic page content
 PHP can create, open, read, write, delete, and close files on the server
 PHP can collect form data
 PHP can send and receive cookies
 PHP can add, delete, modify data in your database
 PHP can be used to control user-access
 PHP can encrypt data
 With PHP you are not limited to output HTML. You can output images, PDF files, and
even Flash movies. You can also output any text, such as XHTML and XML.

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PHP Syntax
 PHP code is executed between <?php ?> tags
 Semicolons (;) are used to end statements
 Comments in PHP begin with // or /* */
<?php
// This is a single-line comment
/*
This is a
multi-line
comment
*/
// Declare and initialize a variable
$name = "John";
// Echo the variable's value
echo "Hello, " . $name . "!";
?>
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PHP Variables
 Variables are used to store values
 Variable names begin with a $ sign followed by a letter or underscore
 Example: $name = "John";

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Echo/Print
• Used to output data to the screen
• Echo and print are both language constructs
• Example: echo "Hello, World!";

8
Data Types
• PHP supports several data types including:
• String
• Integer <?php // Output the data types
// Integer data type echo "Age: " . $age . "<br>";
• Float
$age = 25; echo "Price: " . $price . "<br>";
• Boolean // Float data type echo "Name: " . $name . "<br>";
• Null $price = 19.99; echo "Active: " . $is_active . "<br>";
// String data type echo "Discount: " . $discount . "<br>";
$name = "John";
// Boolean data type ?>
$is_active = true;
// Null data type
$discount = null;

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 Strings
• A sequence of characters

• Enclosed in quotes (single or double)

• Concatenation using the . operator

• Example: $name = "John"; echo "My name is " . $name;

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 Constants
• Similar to variables, but their value cannot be changed

• Defined using the define() function

• Example: define("PI", 3.14159);

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 Operators
• Arithmetic (+, -, *, /, %)

• Comparison (==, !=, >, <, >=, <=)

• Logical (&&, ||, !)

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 If Else Statement
• Used to make decisions based on conditions
• Executes a block of code if a condition is true
• Example:

if ($x > $y) {

echo "X is greater than Y";
} else {
echo "Y is greater than or equal to X";
}

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 Switch Statement
• Used to select one of many blocks of code to execute
• Example:

switch ($x) {
case 1:
echo "Number is 1";
break;
case 2:
echo "Number is 2";
break;
default:
echo "Number is not 1 or 2";
}

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 While Loops
• Used to execute a block of code repeatedly while a condition is true
• Example:

$i = 0;
while ($i < 10) {
echo $i;
$i++;
}

15
 For Loops
• Used to execute a block of code a specified number of times
• Example:

for ($i = 0; $i < 10; $i++) {

echo $i;
}

16
 Functions
• A block of code that can be reused
• Can accept parameters and return values
• Example:

function add($x, $y) {

return $x + $y;
}
echo add(2, 3); // Output: 5

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 Arrays
• Used to store multiple values in a single variable
• Indexed arrays use numeric keys
• Associative arrays use string keys
• Example:

$fruits = array("Apple", "Banana", "Orange");

echo $fruits[0]; // Output: Apple

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 Superglobals
• Superglobals are special PHP variables that are available in all scopes throughout a PHP
script.
• They are predefined by PHP and can be used to access various types of information, such as
server and request data, form data, and session data.
• Superglobals are always in the form of associative arrays, which means that they contain
key-value pairs.
• Examples:
• $_SERVER
• $_GET
• $_POST
• $_SESSION
• $_COOKIE

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 Superglobals
• $_SERVER: Contains information about the server and the execution environment, such as
server name, script name, and request method.
• $_GET: Contains data that is passed in the URL as query parameters.
• $_POST: Contains data that is submitted through an HTML form using the HTTP POST
method.
• $_COOKIE: Contains data that is stored on the client's machine as cookies.
• $_SESSION: Contains data that is stored on the server and associated with a specific user
session.
• $_FILES: Contains data about files that are uploaded through an HTML form.

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 Superglobals
<?php In this example, we have:

// The $_SERVER superglobal • Three echo statements that output some

echo "Server name: " . $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'] . "<br>"; values from the $_SERVER superglobal
echo "Request method: " . $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] . "<br>"; array. These include the server name, request
echo "Script filename: " . $_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'] . method, and script filename.
"<br>";
• An if statement that checks if a "name"
// The $_GET superglobal parameter is set in the $_GET superglobal
if(isset($_GET['name'])) { array. If it is, it outputs a personalized greeting
echo "Hello, " . $_GET['name'] . "!<br>"; using the value of the "name" parameter.
}
• Another if statement that checks if an
// The $_POST superglobal "email" parameter is set in the $_POST
if(isset($_POST['email'])) { superglobal array. If it is, it outputs the value
echo "Your email is: " . $_POST['email'] . "<br>"; of the "email" parameter.
}

?>

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PHP Form Handling
 Forms are a crucial part of many web applications, and PHP provides powerful tools for

processing and validating form data.

 Here are some key concepts related to PHP form handling:

 HTML forms are used to collect input from the user. They are defined using the <form> tag,

which contains one or more input fields such as text boxes, radio buttons, and checkboxes.

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Form Submission
 When a user submits an HTML form, the data is sent to the server using either the GET or
POST method.

 In PHP, the submitted form data is available in the $_GET or $_POST superglobal array,
depending on which method was used.

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Form Validation
 Form validation is the process of ensuring that the submitted form data is valid and meets
certain criteria.

 This is important for preventing security vulnerabilities and ensuring that the application
works as intended.

 PHP provides a number of functions and techniques for validating form data, such as
checking for required fields and validating email addresses and URLs.

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 Example Code: Form
Handling and Validation
<?php
// Process form data if there are no errors
// Check if form is submitted if(empty($errors)) {
if($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") { // TODO: Process form data (send email, store in
// Get form data database, etc.)
$name = $_POST["name"]; echo "Form submitted successfully!";
$email = $_POST["email"]; } else {
$message = $_POST["message"]; // Output errors
echo "<ul>";
// Validate form data foreach($errors as $error) {
$errors = []; echo "<li>" . $error . "</li>";
if(empty($name)) { }
$errors[] = "Name is required."; echo "</ul>";
} }
if(empty($email)) {
$errors[] = "Email is required."; }
} elseif(!filter_var($email,
FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL)) { ?>
$errors[] = "Invalid email format."; <form method="post">
} <label>Name:</label>
if(empty($message)) { <input type="text" name="name"><br>
$errors[] = "Message is required."; <label>Email:</label>
} <input type="email" name="email"><br>
<label>Message:</label>
<textarea name="message"></textarea><br>

<input type="submit" value="Submit">

</form> 25
Example Code: Form
Handling and Validation
This code does the following:
 Checks if the form is submitted using the $_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"]
superglobal.
 Gets the form data using the $_POST superglobal.
 Validates the form data using a series of if statements and PHP functions such as
empty() and filter_var().
 Processes the form data if there are no errors, or outputs a list of errors if there are.
 Displays an HTML form using the <form> tag, with various input fields and a submit
button.

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Example: Accessing Server Info
& Handling Form Data

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