This book is organized into four main sections: an introduction to programming; a
reference for all the functions in PHP; a survey of common programming problems; and
finally a guide for applying this knowledge to Web site development. The first section
deals with the issues involved with any programming language: what a PHP script looks
like; how to control execution; how to deal with data. The second section organizes the
functions by what they do and gives examples of their use. PHP offers many functions, so
this section is larger than the rest. The third section deals with solving common
programming problems such as sorting and generating graphics. The last section offers
advice about how to create a whole Web site with PHP.
I've chosen a few conventions for highlighting certain information, and I'm sure you will
find them obvious, but for the sake of clarity I'll spell them out. Whenever I use a
keyword such as the name of a script or a function, I place itin a monospace font. For
example, I may speak about the print func- tion. Another convention I've used is to
place email addresses and Web addresses inside angle brackets. Examples are the email
address by which youcan contact me, <[email protected]/>, and my Web site,
http://www.leonatkinson.com/.