Series

Guided learning paths through PHP and web development topics. Follow a series from start to finish or jump to the part you need.

PHP Everyday learning series

A series groups related articles into a reading path. Unlike packs (which are curated step-by-step bundles), series follow the natural topic structure - start with the overview, then dig into specifics.

PDO (PHP Data Objects)

The standard database access layer in modern PHP. If you are still using mysql_* functions or have never touched prepared statements, start here.

  1. PDO Tutorial
  2. Introduction to PHP Data Objects
  3. Connecting with PDO
  4. Error Handling
  5. Prepared Statements
  6. Positional and Named Placeholders
  7. Insert and Update with Bind Param
  8. Insert and Update with Prepared Statements
  9. Create Table Using Execute
  10. Working with BLOBs

CodeIgniter

A lightweight MVC framework with clear documentation. This series goes from installation to a complete CRUD application.

  1. Introduction to CodeIgniter
  2. Installation
  3. Creating Your First Application
  4. Database Configuration
  5. Framework Basic Tutorial
  6. Form - Creating Skeleton
  7. Form - File Structure
  8. Form - Layout Code
  9. Form - Menu Library
  10. Form - Header and Footer
  11. Form - Centralizing $data
  12. Form - Adding CSS
  13. Form - HTML Structure
  14. Form - Beautiful Form Code
  15. Form - Insert Data
  16. Form - List Data with Table Library
  17. Form - Table List Without Library
  18. Form - URL Helper
  19. Form - Showing Single Data for Edit
  20. Form - Parameters Troubleshooting
  21. Form - Updating Data
  22. Form - Deleting Data

Zend Framework

Configuration, database, sessions, and authentication with Zend Framework.

  1. Basic Tutorial
  2. Folder Structure
  3. XML Configuration
  4. Database - Input Form
  5. Login - Preparing Database
  6. Login - Form
  7. Login - Authentication
  8. Login - stdClass Error Fix
  9. Login - Protected Page
  10. Login - Logout
  11. Login - Front Page Switching
  12. Auth and ACL System
  13. Session Introduction
  14. Session - Namespaces
  15. Session - Accessing Data
  16. Session - All Namespace Values
  17. Session - Locking
  18. Session - Expiration

Drupal Configuration

Configure a Drupal installation through the admin panel.

  1. Login to Administration
  2. General Settings
  3. Error Handling
  4. Error Report Log
  5. Date and Time
  6. Caching for Performance
  7. File System
  8. Site Maintenance

jQuery UI

UI widgets, dialogs, datepickers, and theming with jQuery UI.

  1. Using the Framework Classes
  2. Dialog Options
  3. Positioning the Dialog
  4. Drop-down Menu in Dialog
  5. Multiple Modal Dialogs
  6. Datepicker Configuration
  7. Changing Date Format

Smarty Template Engine

Separate PHP logic from HTML presentation using Smarty templates.

  1. Smarty Engine Tutorial
  2. Introduction
  3. Installation
  4. My First Smarty Template
  5. Smarty Basics
  6. Associative Arrays
  7. Array Index
  8. Object Variables
  9. Configuration File Variables
  10. Reversed Variables
  11. Variable Modifiers

ADOdb

Database abstraction layer that works across MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, MSSQL, and more.

  1. ADOdb Introduction
  2. Connection Statement
  3. How to Show Fields
  4. Recordset to HTML
  5. Caching of Recordset

Facebook Platform

Building applications on the Facebook Platform (Graph API, FBML, profile integration).

  1. Facebook API Introduction
  2. Facebook Platform Overview
  3. Application Setup
  4. Application Privacy
  5. My First Facebook Application
  6. Facebook API Overview
  7. API - Application
  8. API - Events
  9. API - Friends
  10. API - Groups
  11. API - Groups (Alternate)
  12. API - Page
  13. API - Likes
  14. API - Users
  15. API - Messages
  16. API - Notes
  17. API - Notifications
  18. API - Pages
  19. API - Photos
  20. API - Places
  21. API - Requests
  22. API - Status
  23. API - Users (Extended)
  24. Showing and Hiding Content in Profile Boxes
  25. FBML - 6 Types of Facebook Markup Language
  26. FBML - Users and Groups
  27. FBML - Displaying Content Conditionally
  28. FBML - fb:if can see
  29. FBML - fb:if can see photo
  30. FBML - fb:if is app user
  31. FBML - fb:if is friend with viewer
  32. FBML - fb:if and fb:switch
  33. FBML - UI Elements and Widgets
  34. FBML - Using UI Elements
  35. FBML - Discussion Board
  36. FBML - Creating a Wall in Application
  37. FBML - Building Requests and Invitations

Joomla

Custom components, templates, and MVC patterns in Joomla.

  1. Making a Basic Template
  2. MVC Introduction
  3. Component - Hello Page

PHP WDDX

WDDX (Web Distributed Data eXchange) is an XML-based data interchange format built into older PHP versions. These articles cover packet anatomy, data types, serialization, and building web services.

  1. Introduction to WDDX
  2. Anatomy of a WDDX Packet
  3. Data Elements
  4. Simple Data Types
  5. Array Elements
  6. Struct Element
  7. Recordset Element
  8. Simple Serialization
  9. Complex Serialization
  10. Unserializing Data
  11. Creating a Web Service Server
  12. Creating a Web Service Client

Drupal Module Development

Module architecture and the building blocks for extending Drupal.

  1. Module Architecture

PHPMailer

Send email from PHP using PHPMailer with SMTP authentication.

  1. PHPMailer Tutorial
  2. Set Up SMTP Option
  3. Set Up PHPMailer with SMTP