Overview
As Web sites and intranets become larger and more complex, static HTML files hit their limits. In the first part of Web Application Development with PHP the authors explain PHP's advanced syntax like classes, recursive functions and variables. They present software development methodologies and coding conventions which are a must-know for industry quality products as well as to help making develop faster and more productive. This part covers also many standard algorithms for tree-structures, string sorting and searching. Part Two focuses on the concept of Web Applications (as opposed to single scripts) and gives much insight into user and session management, e-commerce systems, XML applications and WDDX.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewIf you're an experienced web developer who's at least familiar with PHP's syntax — and especially if you work on industrial-strength projects that others may have to maintain or evolve — this book's for you. In Web Application Development With PHP 4.0, two PHP community insiders take you beyond mere coding, offering excellent insight and methodologies for planning, designing, and implementing business-critical webware with PHP.
From the start, you know this isn't another introductory PHP guide. The authors begin with proven coding conventions and techniques for organizing large projects. When they do cover features, the coverage is sophisticated: multidimensional arrays, self-modifying code, even techniques for extending PHP 4.0 with your own functions (what, PHP's 1200 built-in functions aren't enough?)
The book includes detailed coverage of session management, including security considerations (PHP is relatively secure, compared with say, CGI, but you still have to keep your wits about you). There's a full chapter on using PHPLib for vendor-independent database access; expert coverage of PHPLib's template class, even interfaces for XML parsing. You'll also read about three high-performance, high-volume PHP case study applications.
—Bill Camarda, bn.com editor