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For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))

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PHP module H101
Introduction to PHP
Exercises, examples and other material relating to training module H101. This topic is presented on public courses Deploying LAMP - Linux, Apache, MySQL, Perl/PHP, Linux Web Server, Learning to program in PHP, Technology Background for PHP, PHP Programming, Beginning PHP - weekend course / hobby / club / leisure users, PHP Programming, Learning to program in PHP

PHP is a language that you can use to embed programmable content in your web pages. This module introduces you to PHP and outlines system requirements and costs. It also includes an overview of current and recent versions.

Related technical and longer articles
Portrait of the Author of PHP
What is PHP?

Articles and tips on this subjectupdated
4621The power of scripting
Over the last few days, I've been helping to populate the Option 24/7 web site - suggesting an alternative to Beeching Style cuts to save money on bus subsidy - by looking at the network as a whole rather than individual routes. Example - don't run all buses the same route between two major towns - ...
2016-01-13
 
4118We not only teach PHP and Python - we teach good PHP and Python Practice!
This week, I'm running a private PHP course in North London, and a private Python course in Bristol ... and it's confirmed and re-confirmed the need for programming standards to be included from the beginning just as much as the mechanisms of the language. I'm not only teaching people how to write ...
2013-06-22
 
789Hot answers in PHP
We've got a lot - a LOT of demonstrations and source code on our site. Here are a few of the most popular ones all brought together in a single listing. Enjoy ... Searching - how similar are two words? - try about source Does a particular URL exist? - try source Uploading an image to a database ...
2013-01-02
 
712Why reinvent the wheel
1. Because you feel you can do better. 2. Because you've nothing else to do and you want to be busy when your boss walks by. 3. Because it's so much more fun re-inventing the wheel than using someone else's. 4. Because you can learn from your experience. 5. Because you didn't realise that someone ...
2012-10-01
 
3025Learning to Program ... in PHP. Course examples.
Most programming language courses you'll find commercially provided are really "conversion" courses - intended for delegates who have programmed before, but in a different (or very different) language and environment. Our PHP Programming course is like that, and being knowledgeable in very many languages ...
2010-11-02
 
317Programming languages - a comparison
"It would take me a week to develop application XXX in C, 2 or 3 days in Java, and a day in Perl, PHP, or Python." So I say when I'm teaching Perl, PHP or Python. What do I say when I'm teaching C, C++ or Java? The same thing! But there are qualifications / differences / reasons and just because it ...
2010-05-15
 
624It's REALLY easy to add a little PHP
I've taken to describing PHP and an "HTML++" language when I'm training. That's to show absolute newcomers to PHP that they can simple write a page of HTML, give it an extension such as .php, and it will function in exactly the way it always has for them. Then, very gently, the newcomer can add in some ...
2010-05-15
 
1050The HTML++ Metalanguage
What's the difference between a language and a metalanguage? A language is a single specification - a way of describing a series of actions or how some particular data is handled. Whereas a metalanguage is a way of specifying a series of languages to a particular pattern. An example? HTML is a language. ...
2010-01-31
 
2097PHP Course - for hobby / club / charity users.
Are you looking after a PHP based web site but want to do more with it? Perhaps it's the web site for your cricket club, your local school, or a charity or special interest group you work with? What is this course all about? Traditionally, our courses have run during the week and been aimed at commercial ...
2009-03-22
(longer)
949Sludge off the mountain, and Python and PHP
Is Python 2.3 compatible with version 2.2? How about PHP 5.1 with PHP 4.4? In an ideal world, the answer to every such compatibility question would be "yes, it is" but it's not always quite that simple. Python's upwards compatibility is excellent - as a language, it was designed for the purpose for ...
2009-01-01
 
924The LAMP Cookbook - Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP / Perl
It all started on Friday as we came back from the pub. I was describing how we've been, twice, on Neil Bauman's Geek Cruises but never been asked to talk or lecture, even in a "lightning session" on them. A little wistfully, maybe, as I'm a "wannabe" - I would love to get up and deliver a talk just ...
2009-01-01
 
1958PHP - Parse error: syntax error, unexpected $end ...
Have you ever had an irritating PHP message that says "parse error" or "syntax" error and little else - and points to $end / the last line of your PHP file which is (a) perfectly ok and (b) probably HTML anyway? Something like this: Dorothy:~ grahamellis$ php floppy   Parse error: syntax error, ...
2008-12-23
 
1198From Web to Web 2
"How do these technologies relate to Web 2?" asked one of my customers last week as we studied Apache httpd and Apache Tomcat. And of course that's followed up by the need to answer the question "What is Web 2". Initial web sites - "Web 1" if you like - were discreet information sources provided by ...
2008-09-27
 
1753Perl v PHP, choosing the right language
"Should I use Perl or PHP?" - a question asked today about a heavy data processing application, but by a delegate who's main work is web site stuff and who is here on a PHP course ... with some prior Perl experience. Not an easy question to answer; if the guy was only doing the data processing work ...
2008-08-14
 
1717Q - Should I use Perl or Python?
An interesting question posed to me today - and not for the first time. And not for the first time, my answer had to be "tell me more about your application, and about the people who will be writing and maintaining it". A comparative diagram on the board provides some help - but of course what's important ...
2008-07-23
(longer)
577Learning to program in Perl or PHP
* Course - Perl for Beginners. * Tutor lead lessons - Learning to Program in PHP. * Classes in MySQL from the ground up. Our IT industry can be so inward-looking at times! Many training courses are really conversion courses where a programmer skilled in language P learns language Q. Such courses ...
2008-06-11
 
433FTP - how to make the right transfers
If you're transfeerring files from one computer to another, you'll probably use an FTP client program - either something with a GUI or the FTP command itself on your local machine, and that will talk to an FTP daemon on the server. It's important to note that you need to navigate to the right directory ...
2008-05-17
 
132Portrait of the author
You could walk past this stockily-built 36 year old of Scandinavian decent, polite, short haired, short trousered on this cruise ship and not notice him amongst the other 2000 guests. And, yes, he can and does circulate freely without challenge. Those few of us who know who he is respect his privacy, ...
2008-05-11
 
124PHP v Java
Question to me yesterday: "Do you have a chart that compares the strengths and weaknesses of the various languages that you teach ...." to which I had to answer "Sorry, no". That's partly because it's like trying to compare apples and oranges, and partly because there are so many different scenarios ...
2008-05-11
 
55Evening classes to learn PHP
I've often felt that the best way to learn a subject such as PHP would be to take half a day of training per week over a period of perhaps 8 to 10 weeks. Practicals exercises to try between each week's session, with the tutor starting each session / lecture with a review of issues that trainee have ...
2008-05-10
 
917Syntax checking in PHP
If you want to check the syntax of your PHP page without actually running it, the -l option (that's lower case letter L) to PHP at the command line will do that for you: wellho@lightning:~/public_html$ php -l index.php No syntax errors detected in index.html wellho@lightning:~/public_html$ Remember ...
2006-11-07
(short)
846Is Perl being replaced by PHP and Python?
I was transferring some Perl code into PHP this morning, and thinking back to comments made to me that Perl seems to be fading away, whereas PHP and Python are growing. Has Larry Wall and the Perl team lost its way, then? Part of the lesson is in my comment that Perl SEEMS to be fading. In my particular ...
2006-08-27
 
795Remember a site's non-technical issues too
From the PHP course yesterday ... we came up with a list of extra considerations (beyond the narrow technical) for your PHP Web applications. Thought you might like to share the checklist ... Search Engine Optimisation Good URLs Good Original Content Links from / to other good sites Clear HTML Code ...
2006-07-07
 
629Choosing the right language
Why are there so many different computer languages? It's partly because there are many different types of things that need to be done in a programming environment and they require different mixes of facilities. And the addition of facility "x" which is really important for application "y" makes the ...
2006-06-09
 
48PHP - onwards and upwards
I could never have imagined when I wrote in the Spring, 2001 edition of "Of Course" "Just because we don't offer courses in PHP or Python or MySQL.... doesn't mean we can't help" ... where that comment would lead. This week, I'm running our two-monthly PHP Programming course - today will be the first ...
2006-06-05
 
Examples from our training material
abc.php   Some easy things to do with PHP
form3.html   Sample form for PHP application
g2   First variables and calculations in PHP (stand alone)
g3   Stand alone program in PHP - read from keyboard, calculate, write to screen
g4   Stand alone program in PHP, with conditions and loops
g5   stand alone program in PHP, showing nested blocks
greet.php   The structure of a PHP page
greet2.php   Calculation within a web page
greet3.php   Calculation in a web page, with inputs from a form
greet4.php   Calculations in a page, inputs from an included form
greet5.php   Starting to add structure to your PHP application
greetings   Entering and leaving PHP mode - documentation and comments
motor.php   Elements of a PHP Page
rupert.php   First program - and how to comment it!
t2.php   cost comparison script
t3.php   Totalling script - daily, weekly, monthly, annual amounts
Pictures
Waiting for a full course of 7 trainees
Browser to Server to Perl to MySQL
Background information
Some modules are available for download as a sample of our material or under an Open Training Notes License for free download from [here].
Topics covered in this module
What is PHP?.
What hardware and software do I need?.
Linux and Unix.
Windows (98, NT, 2000, Millennium, XP).
What does PHP cost?.
PHP versions.
Complete learning
If you are looking for a complete course and not just a information on a single subject, visit our Listing and schedule page.

Well House Consultants specialise in training courses in Ruby, Lua, Python, Perl, PHP, and MySQL. We run Private Courses throughout the UK (and beyond for longer courses), and Public Courses at our training centre in Melksham, Wiltshire, England. It's surprisingly cost effective to come on our public courses - even if you live in a different country or continent to us.

We have a technical library of over 700 books on the subjects on which we teach. These books are available for reference at our training centre.


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