A to Z PHP and MySQL Tutorial - Source and Code System

PHP MySQL Connect to a Database

Create a Connection to a MySQL Database

Before you can access data in a database, you must create a connection to the database.

In PHP, this is done with the mysql_connect() function.

Syntax

mysql_connect(servername,username,password);

Parameter	Description
servername	Optional. Specifies the server to connect to. Default value is “localhost:3306”
username	Optional. Specifies the username to log in with. Default value is the name of the user that owns the server process
password	Optional. Specifies the password to log in with. Default is “”

Note: There are more available parameters, but the ones listed above are the most important. Visit our full PHP MySQL Reference for more details.

Example

In the following example we store the connection in a variable ($con) for later use in the script. The “die” part will be executed if the connection fails:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

// some code
?>

Closing a Connection

The connection will be closed automatically when the script ends. To close the connection before, use the mysql_close() function:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

// some code

mysql_close($con);
?>

PHP MySQL Create Database and Tables

Create a Database

The CREATE DATABASE statement is used to create a database in MySQL.

Syntax

CREATE DATABASE database_name
To get PHP to execute the statement above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

The following example creates a database called “my_db”:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

if (mysql_query(“CREATE DATABASE my_db”,$con))
{
echo “Database created”;
}
else
{
echo “Error creating database: ” . mysql_error();
}

mysql_close($con);
?>

Create a Table

The CREATE TABLE statement is used to create a table in MySQL.

Syntax

CREATE TABLE table_name
(
column_name1 data_type,
column_name2 data_type,
column_name3 data_type,
….
)

We must add the CREATE TABLE statement to the mysql_query() function to execute the command.

Example

The following example creates a table named “Persons”, with three columns. The column names will be “FirstName”, “LastName” and “Age”:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

// Create database
if (mysql_query(“CREATE DATABASE my_db”,$con))
{
echo “Database created”;
}
else
{
echo “Error creating database: ” . mysql_error();
}

// Create table
mysql_select_db(“my_db”, $con);
$sql = “CREATE TABLE Persons
(
FirstName varchar(15),
LastName varchar(15),
Age int
)”;

// Execute query
mysql_query($sql,$con);

mysql_close($con);
?>

Important: A database must be selected before a table can be created. The database is selected with the mysql_select_db() function.

Note: When you create a database field of type varchar, you must specify the maximum length of the field, e.g. varchar(15).

The data type specifies what type of data the column can hold.

Primary Keys and Auto Increment Fields

Each table should have a primary key field.

A primary key is used to uniquely identify the rows in a table. Each primary key value must be unique within the table. Furthermore, the primary key field cannot be null because the database engine requires a value to locate the record.

The following example sets the personID field as the primary key field. The primary key field is often an ID number, and is often used with the AUTO_INCREMENT setting. AUTO_INCREMENT automatically increases the value of the field by 1 each time a new record is added. To ensure that the primary key field cannot be null, we must add the NOT NULL setting to the field.

Example

$sql = “CREATE TABLE Persons
(
personID int NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
PRIMARY KEY(personID),
FirstName varchar(15),
LastName varchar(15),
Age int
)”;

mysql_query($sql,$con);

PHP MySQL Insert Into

Insert Data Into a Database Table

The INSERT INTO statement is used to add new records to a database table.

Syntax

It is possible to write the INSERT INTO statement in two forms.

The first form doesn’t specify the column names where the data will be inserted, only their values:

INSERT INTO table_name
VALUES (value1, value2, value3,…)

The second form specifies both the column names and the values to be inserted:

INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, column3,…)
VALUES (value1, value2, value3,…)
To get PHP to execute the statements above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

In the previous chapter we created a table named “Persons”, with three columns; “Firstname”, “Lastname” and “Age”. We will use the same table in this example. The following example adds two new records to the “Persons” table:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

mysql_select_db(“my_db”, $con);

mysql_query(“INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)
VALUES (‘Peter’, ‘Griffin’, ’35’)”);

mysql_query(“INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)
VALUES (‘Glenn’, ‘Quagmire’, ’33’)”);

mysql_close($con);
?>

Insert Data From a Form Into a Database

Now we will create an HTML form that can be used to add new records to the “Persons” table.

Here is the HTML form:

<form action=”insert.php” method=”post”>
Firstname: <input />
Lastname: <input />
Age: <input />
<input />
</form>

</body>
</html>

When a user clicks the submit button in the HTML form in the example above, the form data is sent to “insert.php”.

The “insert.php” file connects to a database, and retrieves the values from the form with the PHP $_POST variables.

Then, the mysql_query() function executes the INSERT INTO statement, and a new record will be added to the “Persons” table.

Here is the “insert.php” page:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

mysql_select_db(“my_db”, $con);

$sql=”INSERT INTO Persons (FirstName, LastName, Age)
VALUES
(‘$_POST[firstname]’,’$_POST[lastname]’,’$_POST[age]’)”;

if (!mysql_query($sql,$con))
{
die(‘Error: ‘ . mysql_error());
}
echo “1 record added”;

mysql_close($con)
?>

PHP MySQL Select

Select Data From a Database Table

The SELECT statement is used to select data from a database.

Syntax

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name

To get PHP to execute the statement above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

The following example selects all the data stored in the “Persons” table (The * character selects all the data in the table):

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

mysql_select_db(“my_db”, $con);

$result = mysql_query(“SELECT * FROM Persons”);

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
echo $row[‘FirstName’] . ” ” . $row[‘LastName’];
echo “<br />”;
}

mysql_close($con);
?>

The example above stores the data returned by the mysql_query() function in the $result variable.

Next, we use the mysql_fetch_array() function to return the first row from the recordset as an array. Each call to mysql_fetch_array() returns the next row in the recordset. The while loop loops through all the records in the recordset. To print the value of each row, we use the PHP $row variable ($row[‘FirstName’] and $row[‘LastName’]).

The output of the code above will be:

Peter Griffin
Glenn Quagmire

Display the Result in an HTML Table

The following example selects the same data as the example above, but will display the data in an HTML table:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

mysql_select_db(“my_db”, $con);

$result = mysql_query(“SELECT * FROM Persons”);

echo “<table border=’1′>
<tr>
<th>Firstname</th>
<th>Lastname</th>
</tr>”;

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
echo “<tr>”;
echo “<td>” . $row[‘FirstName’] . “</td>”;
echo “<td>” . $row[‘LastName’] . “</td>”;
echo “</tr>”;
}
echo “</table>”;

mysql_close($con);
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Firstname	Lastname
Glenn	Quagmire
Peter	Griffin

PHP MySQL The Where Clause

The WHERE clause

The WHERE clause is used to extract only those records that fulfill a specified criterion.

Syntax

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE column_name operator value

To get PHP to execute the statement above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

The following example selects all rows from the “Persons” table where “FirstName=’Peter’:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

mysql_select_db(“my_db”, $con);

$result = mysql_query(“SELECT * FROM Persons
WHERE FirstName=’Peter'”);

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
echo $row[‘FirstName’] . ” ” . $row[‘LastName’];
echo “<br />”;
}
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Peter Griffin

PHP MySQL Order By Keyword

The ORDER BY Keyword

The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the data in a recordset.

The ORDER BY keyword sort the records in ascending order by default.

If you want to sort the records in a descending order, you can use the DESC keyword.

Syntax

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column_name(s) ASC|DESC

Example

The following example selects all the data stored in the “Persons” table, and sorts the result by the “Age” column:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

mysql_select_db(“my_db”, $con);

$result = mysql_query(“SELECT * FROM Persons ORDER BY age”);

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
echo $row[‘FirstName’];
echo ” ” . $row[‘LastName’];
echo ” ” . $row[‘Age’];
echo “<br />”;
}

mysql_close($con);
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Glenn Quagmire 33
Peter Griffin 35

Order by Two Columns

It is also possible to order by more than one column. When ordering by more than one column, the second column is only used if the values in the first column are equal:

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column1, column2

PHP MySQL Update

Update Data In a Database

The UPDATE statement is used to update existing records in a table.

Syntax

UPDATE table_name
SET column1=value, column2=value2,…
WHERE some_column=some_value
Note: Notice the WHERE clause in the UPDATE syntax. The WHERE clause specifies which record or records that should be updated. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records will be updated!

To get PHP to execute the statement above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

Earlier in the tutorial we created a table named “Persons”. Here is how it looks:

FirstName LastName Age

Peter Griffin 35

Glenn Quagmire 33

The following example updates some data in the “Persons” table:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

mysql_select_db(“my_db”, $con);

mysql_query(“UPDATE Persons SET Age = ’36’
WHERE FirstName = ‘Peter’ AND LastName = ‘Griffin'”);

mysql_close($con);
?>

After the update, the “Persons” table will look like this:

FirstName	LastName	Age
Peter	Griffin	36
Glenn	Quagmire	33

PHP MySQL Delete

Delete Data In a Database

The DELETE FROM statement is used to delete records from a database table.

Syntax

DELETE FROM table_name
WHERE some_column = some_value
Note: Notice the WHERE clause in the DELETE syntax. The WHERE clause specifies which record or records that should be deleted. If you omit the WHERE clause, all records will be deleted!

To get PHP to execute the statement above we must use the mysql_query() function. This function is used to send a query or command to a MySQL connection.

Example

Look at the following “Persons” table:

FirstName	LastName	Age
Peter	Griffin	35
Glenn	Quagmire	33

The following example deletes all the records in the “Persons” table where LastName=’Griffin’:

<?php
$con = mysql_connect(“localhost”,”peter”,”abc123″);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

mysql_select_db(“my_db”, $con);

mysql_query(“DELETE FROM Persons WHERE LastName=’Griffin'”);

mysql_close($con);
?>

After the deletion, the table will look like this:

FirstName	LastName	Age
Glenn	Quagmire	33

PHP Database ODBC

ODBC is an Application Programming Interface (API) that allows you to connect to a data source (e.g. an MS Access database).

Create an ODBC Connection

With an ODBC connection, you can connect to any database, on any computer in your network, as long as an ODBC connection is available.

Here is how to create an ODBC connection to a MS Access Database:

Open the Administrative Tools icon in your Control Panel.
Double-click on the Data Sources (ODBC) icon inside.
Choose the System DSN tab.
Click on Add in the System DSN tab.
Select the Microsoft Access Driver. Click Finish.
In the next screen, click Select to locate the database.
Give the database a Data Source Name (DSN).
Click OK.

Note that this configuration has to be done on the computer where your web site is located. If you are running Internet Information Server (IIS) on your own computer, the instructions above will work, but if your web site is located on a remote server, you have to have physical access to that server, or ask your web host to to set up a DSN for you to use.

Connecting to an ODBC

The odbc_connect() function is used to connect to an ODBC data source. The function takes four parameters: the data source name, username, password, and an optional cursor type.

The odbc_exec() function is used to execute an SQL statement.

Example

The following example creates a connection to a DSN called northwind, with no username and no password. It then creates an SQL and executes it:

$conn=odbc_connect(‘northwind’,”,”);
$sql=”SELECT * FROM customers”;
$rs=odbc_exec($conn,$sql);

Retrieving Records

The odbc_fetch_row() function is used to return records from the result-set. This function returns true if it is able to return rows, otherwise false.

The function takes two parameters: the ODBC result identifier and an optional row number:

odbc_fetch_row($rs)

Retrieving Fields from a Record

The odbc_result() function is used to read fields from a record. This function takes two parameters: the ODBC result identifier and a field number or name.

The code line below returns the value of the first field from the record:

$compname=odbc_result($rs,1);

The code line below returns the value of a field called “CompanyName”:

$compname=odbc_result($rs,”CompanyName”);

Closing an ODBC Connection

The odbc_close() function is used to close an ODBC connection.

odbc_close($conn);

An ODBC Example

The following example shows how to first create a database connection, then a result-set, and then display the data in an HTML table.

<?php
$conn=odbc_connect(‘northwind’,”,”);
if (!$conn)
{exit(“Connection Failed: ” . $conn);}
$sql=”SELECT * FROM customers”;
$rs=odbc_exec($conn,$sql);
if (!$rs)
{exit(“Error in SQL”);}
echo “<table><tr>”;
echo “<th>Companyname</th>”;
echo “<th>Contactname</th></tr>”;
while (odbc_fetch_row($rs))
{
$compname=odbc_result($rs,”CompanyName”);
$conname=odbc_result($rs,”ContactName”);
echo “<tr><td>$compname</td>”;
echo “<td>$conname</td></tr>”;
}
odbc_close($conn);
echo “</table>”;
?>

</body>
</html>

PHP XML Expat Parser

The built-in Expat parser makes it possible to process XML documents in PHP.

What is XML?

XML is used to describe data and to focus on what data is. An XML file describes the structure of the data.

In XML, no tags are predefined. You must define your own tags.

What is Expat?

To read and update – create and manipulate – an XML document, you will need an XML parser.

There are two basic types of XML parsers:

Tree-based parser: This parser transforms an XML document into a tree structure. It analyzes the whole document, and provides access to the tree elements. e.g. the Document Object Model (DOM)
Event-based parser: Views an XML document as a series of events. When a specific event occurs, it calls a function to handle it

The Expat parser is an event-based parser.

Event-based parsers focus on the content of the XML documents, not their structure. Because of this, event-based parsers can access data faster than tree-based parsers.

Look at the following XML fraction:

An event-based parser reports the XML above as a series of three events:

Start element: from
Start CDATA section, value: Jani
Close element: from

The XML example above contains well-formed XML. However, the example is not valid XML, because there is no Document Type Definition (DTD) associated with it.

However, this makes no difference when using the Expat parser. Expat is a non-validating parser, and ignores any DTDs.

As an event-based, non-validating XML parser, Expat is fast and small, and a perfect match for PHP web applications.

Note: XML documents must be well-formed or Expat will generate an error.

Installation

The XML Expat parser functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

An XML File

The XML file below will be used in our example:

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”ISO-8859-1″?>
<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don’t forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>

Initializing the XML Parser

We want to initialize the XML parser in PHP, define some handlers for different XML events, and then parse the XML file.

Example

<?php
//Initialize the XML parser
$parser=xml_parser_create();

//Function to use at the start of an element
function start($parser,$element_name,$element_attrs)
{
switch($element_name)
{
case “NOTE”:
echo “– Note –<br />”;
break;
case “TO”:
echo “To: “;
break;
case “FROM”:
echo “From: “;
break;
case “HEADING”:
echo “Heading: “;
break;
case “BODY”:
echo “Message: “;
}
}

//Function to use at the end of an element
function stop($parser,$element_name)
{
echo “<br />”;
}

//Function to use when finding character data
function char($parser,$data)
{
echo $data;
}

//Specify element handler
xml_set_element_handler($parser,”start”,”stop”);

//Specify data handler
xml_set_character_data_handler($parser,”char”);

//Open XML file
$fp=fopen(“test.xml”,”r”);

//Read data
while ($data=fread($fp,4096))
{
xml_parse($parser,$data,feof($fp)) or
die (sprintf(“XML Error: %s at line %d”,
xml_error_string(xml_get_error_code($parser)),
xml_get_current_line_number($parser)));
}

//Free the XML parser
xml_parser_free($parser);
?>

The output of the code above will be:

— Note —
To: Tove
From: Jani
Heading: Reminder
Message: Don’t forget me this weekend!

How it works:

Initialize the XML parser with the xml_parser_create() function
Create functions to use with the different event handlers
Add the xml_set_element_handler() function to specify which function will be executed when the parser encounters the opening and closing tags
Add the xml_set_character_data_handler() function to specify which function will execute when the parser encounters character data
Parse the file “test.xml” with the xml_parse() function
In case of an error, add xml_error_string() function to convert an XML error to a textual description
Call the xml_parser_free() function to release the memory allocated with the xml_parser_create() function

PHP XML DOM

The built-in DOM parser makes it possible to process XML documents in PHP.

What is DOM?

The W3C DOM provides a standard set of objects for HTML and XML documents, and a standard interface for accessing and manipulating them.

The W3C DOM is separated into different parts (Core, XML, and HTML) and different levels (DOM Level 1/2/3):

* Core DOM – defines a standard set of objects for any structured document
* XML DOM – defines a standard set of objects for XML documents
* HTML DOM – defines a standard set of objects for HTML documents

XML Parsing

To read and update – create and manipulate – an XML document, you will need an XML parser.

There are two basic types of XML parsers:

Tree-based parser: This parser transforms an XML document into a tree structure. It analyzes the whole document, and provides access to the tree elements
Event-based parser: Views an XML document as a series of events. When a specific event occurs, it calls a function to handle it

The DOM parser is an tree-based parser.

Look at the following XML document fraction:

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”ISO-8859-1″?>
<from>Jani</from>

The XML DOM sees the XML above as a tree structure:

Level 1: XML Document
Level 2: Root element: <from>
Level 3: Text element: “Jani”

Installation

The DOM XML parser functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

An XML File

The XML file below will be used in our example:

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”ISO-8859-1″?>
<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don’t forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>

Load and Output XML

We want to initialize the XML parser, load the xml, and output it:

Example

<?php
$xmlDoc = new DOMDocument();
$xmlDoc->load(“note.xml”);

print $xmlDoc->saveXML();
?>

The output of the code above will be:

Tove Jani Reminder Don’t forget me this weekend!

If you select “View source” in the browser window, you will see the following HTML:

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”ISO-8859-1″?>
<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don’t forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>

The example above creates a DOMDocument-Object and loads the XML from “note.xml” into it.

Then the saveXML() function puts the internal XML document into a string, so we can output it.

Looping through XML

We want to initialize the XML parser, load the XML, and loop through all elements of the <note> element:

Example

<?php
$xmlDoc = new DOMDocument();
$xmlDoc->load(“note.xml”);

$x = $xmlDoc->documentElement;
foreach ($x->childNodes AS $item)
{
print $item->nodeName . ” = ” . $item->nodeValue . “<br />”;
}
?>

The output of the code above will be:

#text =
to = Tove
#text =
from = Jani
#text =
heading = Reminder
#text =
body = Don’t forget me this weekend!
#text =

In the example above you see that there are empty text nodes between each element.

When XML generates, it often contains white-spaces between the nodes. The XML DOM parser treats these as ordinary elements, and if you are not aware of them, they sometimes cause problems.

PHP SimpleXML

SimpleXML handles the most common XML tasks and leaves the rest for other extensions.

What is SimpleXML?

SimpleXML is new in PHP 5. It is an easy way of getting an element’s attributes and text, if you know the XML document’s layout.

Compared to DOM or the Expat parser, SimpleXML just takes a few lines of code to read text data from an element.

SimpleXML converts the XML document into an object, like this:

Elements – Are converted to single attributes of the SimpleXMLElement object. When there’s more than one element on one level, they’re placed inside an array
Attributes – Are accessed using associative arrays, where an index corresponds to the attribute name
Element Data – Text data from elements are converted to strings. If an element has more than one text node, they will be arranged in the order they are found

SimpleXML is fast and easy to use when performing basic tasks like:

Reading XML files
Extracting data from XML strings
Editing text nodes or attributes

However, when dealing with advanced XML, like namespaces, you are better off using the Expat parser or the XML DOM.

Installation

As of PHP 5.0, the SimpleXML functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

Using SimpleXML

Below is an XML file:

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”ISO-8859-1″?>
<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don’t forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>

We want to output the element names and data from the XML file above.

Here’s what to do:

Load the XML file
Get the name of the first element
Create a loop that will trigger on each child node, using the children() function
Output the element name and data for each child node

Example

<?php
$xml = simplexml_load_file(“test.xml”);

echo $xml->getName() . “<br />”;

foreach($xml->children() as $child)
{
echo $child->getName() . “: ” . $child . “<br />”;
}
?>

The output of the code above will be:

note
to: Tove
from: Jani
heading: Reminder
body: Don’t forget me this weekend!

AJAX Introduction

AJAX is about updating parts of a web page, without reloading the whole page.

What is AJAX?

AJAX = Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.

AJAX is a technique for creating fast and dynamic web pages.

AJAX allows web pages to be updated asynchronously by exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes. This means that it is possible to update parts of a web page, without reloading the whole page.

Classic web pages, (which do not use AJAX) must reload the entire page if the content should change.

Examples of applications using AJAX: Google Maps, Gmail, Youtube, and Facebook tabs.

How AJAX Works

AJAX is Based on Internet Standards

AJAX is based on internet standards, and uses a combination of:

XMLHttpRequest object (to exchange data asynchronously with a server)
JavaScript/DOM (to display/interact with the information)
CSS (to style the data)
XML (often used as the format for transferring data)

AJAX applications are browser- and platform-independent!

Google Suggest

AJAX was made popular in 2005 by Google, with Google Suggest.

Google Suggest is using AJAX to create a very dynamic web interface: When you start typing in Google’s search box, a JavaScript sends the letters off to a server and the server returns a list of suggestions.

Start Using AJAX Today

In our PHP tutorial, we will demonstrate how AJAX can update parts of a web page, without reloading the whole page. The server script will be written in PHP.

PHP – AJAX and PHP

AJAX is used to create more interactive applications.

AJAX PHP Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can communicate with a web server while a user type characters in an input field:

Example

Start typing a name in the input field below:

Suggestions:

Example Explained – The HTML Page

When a user types a character in the input field above, the function “showHint()” is executed. The function is triggered by the “onkeyup” event:

<html>
<head>
<script>
function showHint(str)
{
if (str.length==0)
{
document.getElementById(“txtHint”).innerHTML=””;
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject(“Microsoft.XMLHTTP”);
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
{
document.getElementById(“txtHint”).innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
}
}
xmlhttp.open(“GET”,”gethint.php?q=”+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head
<body>

<p><b>Start typing a name in the input field below:</b></p>
<form>
First name: <input size=”20″ />
</form>
<p>Suggestions: <span id=”txtHint”></span></p>

</body>
</html>

Source code explanation:

If the input field is empty (str.length==0), the function clears the content of the txtHint placeholder and exits the function.

If the input field is not empty, the showHint() function executes the following:

Create an XMLHttpRequest object
Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
Send the request off to a file on the server
Notice that a parameter (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the input field)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called “gethint.php”.

The source code in “gethint.php” checks an array of names, and returns the corresponding name(s) to the browser:

<?php
// Fill up array with names
$a[]=”Anna”;
$a[]=”Brittany”;
$a[]=”Cinderella”;
$a[]=”Diana”;
$a[]=”Eva”;
$a[]=”Fiona”;
$a[]=”Gunda”;
$a[]=”Hege”;
$a[]=”Inga”;
$a[]=”Johanna”;
$a[]=”Kitty”;
$a[]=”Linda”;
$a[]=”Nina”;
$a[]=”Ophelia”;
$a[]=”Petunia”;
$a[]=”Amanda”;
$a[]=”Raquel”;
$a[]=”Cindy”;
$a[]=”Doris”;
$a[]=”Eve”;
$a[]=”Evita”;
$a[]=”Sunniva”;
$a[]=”Tove”;
$a[]=”Unni”;
$a[]=”Violet”;
$a[]=”Liza”;
$a[]=”Elizabeth”;
$a[]=”Ellen”;
$a[]=”Wenche”;
$a[]=”Vicky”;

//get the q parameter from URL
$q=$_GET[“q”];

//lookup all hints from array if length of q>0
if (strlen($q) > 0)
{
$hint=””;
for($i=0; $i<count($a); $i++)
{
if (strtolower($q)==strtolower(substr($a[$i],0,strlen($q))))
{
if ($hint==””)
{
$hint=$a[$i];
}
else
{
$hint=$hint.” , “.$a[$i];
}
}
}
}

// Set output to “no suggestion” if no hint were found
// or to the correct values
if ($hint == “”)
{
$response=”no suggestion”;
}
else
{
$response=$hint;
}

//output the response
echo $response;
?>

Explanation: If there is any text sent from the JavaScript (strlen($q) > 0), the following happens:

Find a name matching the characters sent from the JavaScript
If no match were found, set the response string to “no suggestion”
If one or more matching names were found, set the response string to all these names
The response is sent to the “txtHint” placeholder

PHP – AJAX and MySQL

AJAX can be used for interactive communication with a database.

AJAX Database Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can fetch information from a database with AJAX:

Example

Person info will be listed here…

Example Explained – The MySQL Database

The database table we use in the example above looks like this:

id	FirstName	LastName	Age	Hometown	Job
1	Peter	Griffin	41	Quahog	Brewery
2	Lois	Griffin	40	Newport	Piano Teacher
3	Joseph	Swanson	39	Quahog	Police Officer
4	Glenn	Quagmire	41	Quahog	Pilot

Example Explained – The HTML Page

When a user selects a user in the dropdown list above, a function called “showUser()” is executed. The function is triggered by the “onchange” event:

<html>
<head>
<script>
function showUser(str)
{
if (str==””)
{
document.getElementById(“txtHint”).innerHTML=””;
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject(“Microsoft.XMLHTTP”);
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
{
document.getElementById(“txtHint”).innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
}
}
xmlhttp.open(“GET”,”getuser.php?q=”+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<form>
<select>
<option value=””>Select a person:</option>
<option value=”1″>Peter Griffin</option>
<option value=”2″>Lois Griffin</option>
<option value=”3″>Glenn Quagmire</option>
<option value=”4″>Joseph Swanson</option>
</select>
</form>
<br />
<div><b>Person info will be listed here.</b></div>

</body>
</html>

The showUser() function does the following:

Check if a person is selected
Create an XMLHttpRequest object
Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
Send the request off to a file on the server
Notice that a parameter (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the dropdown list)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called “getuser.php”.

The source code in “getuser.php” runs a query against a MySQL database, and returns the result in an HTML table:

<?php
$q=$_GET[“q”];

$con = mysql_connect(‘localhost’, ‘peter’, ‘abc123’);
if (!$con)
{
die(‘Could not connect: ‘ . mysql_error());
}

mysql_select_db(“ajax_demo”, $con);

$sql=”SELECT * FROM user WHERE id = ‘”.$q.”‘”;

$result = mysql_query($sql);

echo “<table border=’1′>
<tr>
<th>Firstname</th>
<th>Lastname</th>
<th>Age</th>
<th>Hometown</th>
<th>Job</th>
</tr>”;

while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result))
{
echo “<tr>”;
echo “<td>” . $row[‘FirstName’] . “</td>”;
echo “<td>” . $row[‘LastName’] . “</td>”;
echo “<td>” . $row[‘Age’] . “</td>”;
echo “<td>” . $row[‘Hometown’] . “</td>”;
echo “<td>” . $row[‘Job’] . “</td>”;
echo “</tr>”;
}
echo “</table>”;

mysql_close($con);
?>

Explanation: When the query is sent from the JavaScript to the PHP file, the following happens:

PHP opens a connection to a MySQL server
The correct person is found
An HTML table is created, filled with data, and sent back to the “txtHint” placeholder

PHP Example – AJAX and XML

AJAX can be used for interactive communication with an XML file.

AJAX XML Example

The following example will demonstrate how a web page can fetch information from an XML file with AJAX:

Example

CD info will be listed here…

Example Explained – The HTML Page

When a user selects a CD in the dropdown list above, a function called “showCD()” is executed. The function is triggered by the “onchange” event:

<html>
<head>
<script>
function showCD(str)
{
if (str==””)
{
document.getElementById(“txtHint”).innerHTML=””;
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject(“Microsoft.XMLHTTP”);
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
{
document.getElementById(“txtHint”).innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
}
}
xmlhttp.open(“GET”,”getcd.php?q=”+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<form>
Select a CD:
<select>
<option value=””>Select a CD:</option>
<option value=”Bob Dylan”>Bob Dylan</option>
<option value=”Bonnie Tyler”>Bonnie Tyler</option>
<option value=”Dolly Parton”>Dolly Parton</option>
</select>
</form>
<div><b>CD info will be listed here…</b></div>

</body>
</html>

The showCD() function does the following:

Check if a CD is selected
Create an XMLHttpRequest object
Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
Send the request off to a file on the server
Notice that a parameter (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the dropdown list)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called “getcd.php”.

The PHP script loads an XML document, “cd_catalog.xml”, runs a query against the XML file, and returns the result as HTML:

<?php
$q=$_GET[“q”];

$xmlDoc = new DOMDocument();
$xmlDoc->load(“cd_catalog.xml”);

$x=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName(‘ARTIST’);

for ($i=0; $i<=$x->length-1; $i++)
{
//Process only element nodes
if ($x->item($i)->nodeType==1)
{
if ($x->item($i)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue == $q)
{
$y=($x->item($i)->parentNode);
}
}
}

$cd=($y->childNodes);

for ($i=0;$i<$cd->length;$i++)
{
//Process only element nodes
if ($cd->item($i)->nodeType==1)
{
echo(“<b>” . $cd->item($i)->nodeName . “:</b> “);
echo($cd->item($i)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue);
echo(“<br />”);
}
}
?>

When the CD query is sent from the JavaScript to the PHP page, the following happens:

PHP creates an XML DOM object
Find all <artist> elements that matches the name sent from the JavaScript
Output the album information (send to the “txtHint” placeholder)

PHP Example – AJAX Live Search

AJAX can be used to create more user-friendly and interactive searches.

AJAX Live Search

The following example will demonstrate a live search, where you get search results while you type.

Live search has many benefits compared to traditional searching:

Results are shown as you type
Results narrow as you continue typing
If results become too narrow, remove characters to see a broader result

Search for a W3Schools page in the input field below:

The results in the example above are found in an XML file (links.xml). To make this example small and simple, only eight results are available.

Example Explained – The HTML Page

When a user types a character in the input field above, the function “showResult()” is executed. The function is triggered by the “onkeyup” event:

<html>
<head>
<script>
function showResult(str)
{
if (str.length==0)
{
document.getElementById(“livesearch”).innerHTML=””;
document.getElementById(“livesearch”).style.border=”0px”;
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject(“Microsoft.XMLHTTP”);
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
{
document.getElementById(“livesearch”).innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
document.getElementById(“livesearch”).style.border=”1px solid #A5ACB2″;
}
}
xmlhttp.open(“GET”,”livesearch.php?q=”+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

</body>
</html>

Source code explanation:

If the input field is empty (str.length==0), the function clears the content of the livesearch placeholder and exits the function.

If the input field is not empty, the showResult() function executes the following:

Create an XMLHttpRequest object
Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
Send the request off to a file on the server
Notice that a parameter (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the input field)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called “livesearch.php”.

The source code in “livesearch.php” searches an XML file for titles matching the search string and returns the result:

<?php
$xmlDoc=new DOMDocument();
$xmlDoc->load(“links.xml”);

$x=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName(‘link’);

//get the q parameter from URL
$q=$_GET[“q”];

//lookup all links from the xml file if length of q>0
if (strlen($q)>0)
{
$hint=””;
for($i=0; $i<($x->length); $i++)
{
$y=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName(‘title’);
$z=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName(‘url’);
if ($y->item(0)->nodeType==1)
{
//find a link matching the search text
if (stristr($y->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue,$q))
{
if ($hint==””)
{
$hint=”<a href='” .
$z->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue .
“‘ target=’_blank’>” .
$y->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue . “</a>”;
}
else
{
$hint=$hint . “<br /><a href='” .
$z->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue .
“‘ target=’_blank’>” .
$y->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue . “</a>”;
}
}
}
}
}

// Set output to “no suggestion” if no hint were found
// or to the correct values
if ($hint==””)
{
$response=”no suggestion”;
}
else
{
$response=$hint;
}

//output the response
echo $response;
?>

If there is any text sent from the JavaScript (strlen($q) > 0), the following happens:

Load an XML file into a new XML DOM object
Loop through all <title> elements to find matches from the text sent from the JavaScript
Sets the correct url and title in the “$response” variable. If more than one match is found, all matches are added to the variable
If no matches are found, the $response variable is set to “no suggestion”

PHP Example – AJAX RSS Reader

An RSS Reader is used to read RSS Feeds.

AJAX RSS Reader

The following example will demonstrate an RSS reader, where the RSS-feed is loaded into a webpage without reloading:

RSS-feed will be listed here…

Example Explained – The HTML Page

When a user selects an RSS-feed in the dropdown list above, a function called “showResult()” is executed. The function is triggered by the “onchange” event:

<html>
<head>
<script>
function showRSS(str)
{
if (str.length==0)
{
document.getElementById(“rssOutput”).innerHTML=””;
return;
}
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject(“Microsoft.XMLHTTP”);
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
{
document.getElementById(“rssOutput”).innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
}
}
xmlhttp.open(“GET”,”getrss.php?q=”+str,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

<form>
<select>
<option value=””>Select an RSS-feed:</option>
<option value=”Google”>Google News</option>
<option value=”MSNBC”>MSNBC News</option>
</select>
</form>
<br />
<div>RSS-feed will be listed here…</div>
</body>
</html>

The showResult() function does the following:

Check if an RSS-feed is selected
Create an XMLHttpRequest object
Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
Send the request off to a file on the server
Notice that a parameter (q) is added to the URL (with the content of the dropdown list)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called “getrss.php”:

<?php
//get the q parameter from URL
$q=$_GET[“q”];

//find out which feed was selected
if($q==”Google”)
{
$xml=(“http://news.google.com/news?ned=us&topic=h&output=rss”);
}
elseif($q==”MSNBC”)
{
$xml=(“http://rss.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032091/device/rss/rss.xml”);
}

$xmlDoc = new DOMDocument();
$xmlDoc->load($xml);

//get elements from “<channel>”
$channel=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName(‘channel’)->item(0);
$channel_title = $channel->getElementsByTagName(‘title’)
->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;
$channel_link = $channel->getElementsByTagName(‘link’)
->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;
$channel_desc = $channel->getElementsByTagName(‘description’)
->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;

//output elements from “<channel>”
echo(“<p><a href='” . $channel_link
. “‘>” . $channel_title . “</a>”);
echo(“<br />”);
echo($channel_desc . “</p>”);

//get and output “<item>” elements
$x=$xmlDoc->getElementsByTagName(‘item’);
for ($i=0; $i<=2; $i++)
{
$item_title=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName(‘title’)
->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;
$item_link=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName(‘link’)
->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;
$item_desc=$x->item($i)->getElementsByTagName(‘description’)
->item(0)->childNodes->item(0)->nodeValue;

echo (“<p><a href='” . $item_link
. “‘>” . $item_title . “</a>”);
echo (“<br />”);
echo ($item_desc . “</p>”);
}
?>

When an RSS-feed is sent from the JavaScript, the following happens:

Check which feed was selected
Create a new XML DOM object
Load the RSS document in the xml variable
Extract and output elements from the channel element
Extract and output elements from the item element

PHP Example – AJAX Poll

AJAX Poll

The following example will demonstrate a poll where the result is shown without reloading.

Do you like PHP and AJAX so far?

Example Explained – The HTML Page

When a user choose an option above, a function called “getVote()” is executed. The function is triggered by the “onclick” event:

<html>
<head>
<script>
function getVote(int)
{
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject(“Microsoft.XMLHTTP”);
}
xmlhttp.onreadystatechange=function()
{
if (xmlhttp.readyState==4 && xmlhttp.status==200)
{
document.getElementById(“poll”).innerHTML=xmlhttp.responseText;
}
}
xmlhttp.open(“GET”,”poll_vote.php?vote=”+int,true);
xmlhttp.send();
}
</script>
</head>
<body>

</body>
</html>

The getVote() function does the following:

Create an XMLHttpRequest object
Create the function to be executed when the server response is ready
Send the request off to a file on the server
Notice that a parameter (vote) is added to the URL (with the value of the yes or no option)

The PHP File

The page on the server called by the JavaScript above is a PHP file called “poll_vote.php”:

<?php
$vote = $_REQUEST[‘vote’];

//get content of textfile
$filename = “poll_result.txt”;
$content = file($filename);

//put content in array
$array = explode(“||”, $content[0]);
$yes = $array[0];
$no = $array[1];

if ($vote == 0)
{
$yes = $yes + 1;
}
if ($vote == 1)
{
$no = $no + 1;
}

//insert votes to txt file
$insertvote = $yes.”||”.$no;
$fp = fopen($filename,”w”);
fputs($fp,$insertvote);
fclose($fp);
?>

<h2>Result:</h2>
<table>
<tr>
<td>Yes:</td>
<td>
<img src=”poll.gif”
width='<?php echo(100*round($yes/($no+$yes),2)); ?>’
height=’20’>
<?php echo(100*round($yes/($no+$yes),2)); ?>%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>No:</td>
<td>
<img src=”poll.gif”
width='<?php echo(100*round($no/($no+$yes),2)); ?>’
height=’20’>
<?php echo(100*round($no/($no+$yes),2)); ?>%
</td>
</tr>
</table>

The value is sent from the JavaScript, and the following happens:

Get the content of the “poll_result.txt” file
Put the content of the file in variables and add one to the selected variable
Write the result to the “poll_result.txt” file
Output a graphical representation of the poll result

The Text File

The text file (poll_result.txt) is where we store the data from the poll.

It is stored like this:

0||0

The first number represents the “Yes” votes, the second number represents the “No” votes.

Note: Remember to allow your web server to edit the text file. Do NOT give everyone access, just the web server (PHP).

PHP Array Functions

PHP Array Introduction

The array functions allow you to manipulate arrays.

PHP supports both simple and multi-dimensional arrays. There are also specific functions for populating arrays from database queries.

Installation

The array functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

PHP Array Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
array()	Creates an array	3
array_change_key_case()	Returns an array with all keys in lowercase or uppercase	4
array_chunk()	Splits an array into chunks of arrays	4
array_combine()	Creates an array by using one array for keys and another for its values	5
array_count_values()	Returns an array with the number of occurrences for each value	4
array_diff()	Compares array values, and returns the differences	4
array_diff_assoc()	Compares array keys and values, and returns the differences	4
array_diff_key()	Compares array keys, and returns the differences	5
array_diff_uassoc()	Compares array keys and values, with an additional user-made function check, and returns the differences	5
array_diff_ukey()	Compares array keys, with an additional user-made function check, and returns the differences	5
array_fill()	Fills an array with values	4
array_filter()	Filters elements of an array using a user-made function	4
array_flip()	Exchanges all keys with their associated values in an array	4
array_intersect()	Compares array values, and returns the matches	4
array_intersect_assoc()	Compares array keys and values, and returns the matches	4
array_intersect_key()	Compares array keys, and returns the matches	5
array_intersect_uassoc()	Compares array keys and values, with an additional user-made function check, and returns the matches	5
array_intersect_ukey()	Compares array keys, with an additional user-made function check, and returns the matches	5
array_key_exists()	Checks if the specified key exists in the array	4
array_keys()	Returns all the keys of an array	4
array_map()	Sends each value of an array to a user-made function, which returns new values	4
array_merge()	Merges one or more arrays into one array	4
array_merge_recursive()	Merges one or more arrays into one array	4
array_multisort()	Sorts multiple or multi-dimensional arrays	4
array_pad()	Inserts a specified number of items, with a specified value, to an array	4
array_pop()	Deletes the last element of an array	4
array_product()	Calculates the product of the values in an array	5
array_push()	Inserts one or more elements to the end of an array	4
array_rand()	Returns one or more random keys from an array	4
array_reduce()	Returns an array as a string, using a user-defined function	4
array_reverse()	Returns an array in the reverse order	4
array_search()	Searches an array for a given value and returns the key	4
array_shift()	Removes the first element from an array, and returns the value of the removed element	4
array_slice()	Returns selected parts of an array	4
array_splice()	Removes and replaces specified elements of an array	4
array_sum()	Returns the sum of the values in an array	4
array_udiff()	Compares array values in a user-made function and returns an array	5
array_udiff_assoc()	Compares array keys, and compares array values in a user-made function, and returns an array	5
array_udiff_uassoc()	Compares array keys and array values in user-made functions, and returns an array	5
array_uintersect()	Compares array values in a user-made function and returns an array	5
array_uintersect_assoc()	Compares array keys, and compares array values in a user-made function, and returns an array	5
array_uintersect_uassoc()	Compares array keys and array values in user-made functions, and returns an array	5
array_unique()	Removes duplicate values from an array	4
array_unshift()	Adds one or more elements to the beginning of an array	4
array_values()	Returns all the values of an array	4
array_walk()	Applies a user function to every member of an array	3
array_walk_recursive()	Applies a user function recursively to every member of an array	5
arsort()	Sorts an array in reverse order and maintain index association	3
asort()	Sorts an array and maintain index association	3
compact()	Create array containing variables and their values	4
count()	Counts elements in an array, or properties in an object	3
current()	Returns the current element in an array	3
each()	Returns the current key and value pair from an array	3
end()	Sets the internal pointer of an array to its last element	3
extract()	Imports variables into the current symbol table from an array	3
in_array()	Checks if a specified value exists in an array	4
key()	Fetches a key from an array	3
krsort()	Sorts an array by key in reverse order	3
ksort()	Sorts an array by key	3
list()	Assigns variables as if they were an array	3
natcasesort()	Sorts an array using a case insensitive “natural order” algorithm	4
natsort()	Sorts an array using a “natural order” algorithm	4
next()	Advance the internal array pointer of an array	3
pos()	Alias of current()	3
prev()	Rewinds the internal array pointer	3
range()	Creates an array containing a range of elements	3
reset()	Sets the internal pointer of an array to its first element	3
rsort()	Sorts an array in reverse order	3
shuffle()	Shuffles an array	3
sizeof()	Alias of count()	3
sort()	Sorts an array	3
uasort()	Sorts an array with a user-defined function and maintain index association	3
uksort()	Sorts an array by keys using a user-defined function	3
usort()	Sorts an array by values using a user-defined function	3

PHP Array Constants

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the constant.

Constant	Description	PHP
CASE_LOWER	Used with array_change_key_case() to convert array keys to lower case
CASE_UPPER	Used with array_change_key_case() to convert array keys to upper case
SORT_ASC	Used with array_multisort() to sort in ascending order
SORT_DESC	Used with array_multisort() to sort in descending order
SORT_REGULAR	Used to compare items normally
SORT_NUMERIC	Used to compare items numerically
SORT_STRING	Used to compare items as strings
SORT_LOCALE_STRING	Used to compare items as strings, based on the current locale	4
COUNT_NORMAL
COUNT_RECURSIVE
EXTR_OVERWRITE
EXTR_SKIP
EXTR_PREFIX_SAME
EXTR_PREFIX_ALL
EXTR_PREFIX_INVALID
EXTR_PREFIX_IF_EXISTS
EXTR_IF_EXISTS
EXTR_REFS

PHP Calendar Functions

PHP Calendar Introduction

The calendar functions are useful when working with different calendar formats. The standard it is based on is the Julian day count (Julian day count is a count of days starting from January 1, 4713 B.C.). Note that the Julian day count is not the same as the Julian calendar!

Note: To convert between calendar formats, you must first convert to Julian day count, then to the calendar format.

Installation

The windows version of PHP has built-in support for the calendar extension. So, the calendar functions will work automatically.

However, if you are running the Linux version of PHP, you will have to compile PHP with –enable-calendar to get the calendar functions to work.

PHP Calendar Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
cal_days_in_month()	Returns the number of days in a month for a specified year and calendar	4
cal_from_jd()	Converts a Julian day count into a date of a specified calendar	4
cal_info()	Returns information about a given calendar	4
cal_to_jd()	Converts a date to Julian day count	4
easter_date()	Returns the Unix timestamp for midnight on Easter of a specified year	3
easter_days()	Returns the number of days after March 21, on which Easter falls for a specified year	3
FrenchToJD()	Converts a French Republican date to a Julian day count	3
GregorianToJD()	Converts a Gregorian date to a Julian day count	3
JDDayOfWeek()	Returns the day of a week	3
JDMonthName()	Returns a month name	3
JDToFrench()	Converts a Julian day count to a French Republican date	3
JDToGregorian()	Converts a Julian day count to a Gregorian date	3
jdtojewish()	Converts a Julian day count to a Jewish date	3
JDToJulian()	Converts a Julian day count to a Julian date	3
jdtounix()	Converts a Julian day count to a Unix timestamp	4
JewishToJD()	Converts a Jewish date to a Julian day count	3
JulianToJD()	Converts a Julian date to a Julian day count	3
unixtojd()	Converts a Unix timestamp to a Julian day count	4

PHP Calendar Constants

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the constant.

Constant	Description	PHP
CAL_GREGORIAN	Gregorian calendar	3
CAL_JULIAN	Julian calendar	3
CAL_JEWISH	Jewish calendar	3
CAL_FRENCH	French Republican calendar	3
CAL_NUM_CALS		3
CAL_DOW_DAYNO		3
CAL_DOW_SHORT		3
CAL_DOW_LONG		3
CAL_MONTH_GREGORIAN_SHORT		3
CAL_MONTH_GREGORIAN_LONG		3
CAL_MONTH_JULIAN_SHORT		3
CAL_MONTH_JULIAN_LONG		3
CAL_MONTH_JEWISH		3
CAL_MONTH_FRENCH		3
CAL_EASTER_DEFAULT		4
CAL_EASTER_DEFAULT		4
CAL_EASTER_ROMAN		4
CAL_EASTER_ALWAYS_GREGORIAN		4
CAL_EASTER_ALWAYS_JULIAN		4
CAL_JEWISH_ADD_ALAFIM_GERESH		5
CAL_JEWISH_ADD_ALAFIM		5
CAL_JEWISH_ADD_GERESHAYIM		5

PHP Date / Time Functions

PHP Date / Time Introduction

The date/time functions allow you to extract and format the date and time on the server.

Note: These functions depend on the locale settings of the server!

Installation

The date/time functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

Runtime Configuration

The behavior of the date/time functions is affected by settings in php.ini.

Date/Time configuration options:

Name	Default	Description	Changeable
date.default_latitude	“31.7667”	Specifies the default latitude (available since PHP 5). This option is used by date_sunrise() and date_sunset()	PHP_INI_ALL
date.default_longitude	“35.2333”	Specifies the default longitude (available since PHP 5). This option is used by date_sunrise() and date_sunset()	PHP_INI_ALL
date.sunrise_zenith	“90.83”	Specifies the default sunrise zenith (available since PHP 5). This option is used by date_sunrise() and date_sunset()	PHP_INI_ALL
date.sunset_zenith	“90.83”	Specifies the default sunset zenith (available since PHP 5). This option is used by date_sunrise() and date_sunset()	PHP_INI_ALL
date.timezone	“”	Specifies the default timezone (available since PHP 5.1)	PHP_INI_ALL

PHP Date / Time Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
checkdate()	Validates a Gregorian date	3
date_default_timezone_get()	Returns the default time zone	5
date_default_timezone_set()	Sets the default time zone	5
date_sunrise()	Returns the time of sunrise for a given day / location	5
date_sunset()	Returns the time of sunset for a given day / location	5
date()	Formats a local time/date	3
getdate()	Returns an array that contains date and time information for a Unix timestamp	3
gettimeofday()	Returns an array that contains current time information	3
gmdate()	Formats a GMT/UTC date/time	3
gmmktime()	Returns the Unix timestamp for a GMT date	3
gmstrftime()	Formats a GMT/UTC time/date according to locale settings	3
idate()	Formats a local time/date as integer	5
localtime()	Returns an array that contains the time components of a Unix timestamp	4
microtime()	Returns the microseconds for the current time	3
mktime()	Returns the Unix timestamp for a date	3
strftime()	Formats a local time/date according to locale settings	3
strptime()	Parses a time/date generated with strftime()	5
strtotime()	Parses an English textual date or time into a Unix timestamp	3
time()	Returns the current time as a Unix timestamp	3

PHP Date / Time Constants

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the constant.

Constant	Description	PHP
DATE_ATOM	Atom (example: 2005-08-15T16:13:03+0000)
DATE_COOKIE	HTTP Cookies (example: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_ISO8601	ISO-8601 (example: 2005-08-14T16:13:03+0000)
DATE_RFC822	RFC 822 (example: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_RFC850	RFC 850 (example: Sunday, 14-Aug-05 16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_RFC1036	RFC 1036 (example: Sunday, 14-Aug-05 16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_RFC1123	RFC 1123 (example: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_RFC2822	RFC 2822 (Sun, 14 Aug 2005 16:13:03 +0000)
DATE_RSS	RSS (Sun, 14 Aug 2005 16:13:03 UTC)
DATE_W3C	World Wide Web Consortium (example: 2005-08-14T16:13:03+0000)

PHP Directory Functions

PHP Directory Introduction

The directory functions allow you to retrieve information about directories and their contents.

Installation

The directory functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

PHP Directory Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
chdir()	Changes the current directory	3
chroot()	Changes the root directory of the current process	4
dir()	Opens a directory handle and returns an object	3
closedir()	Closes a directory handle	3
getcwd()	Returns the current directory	4
opendir()	Opens a directory handle	3
readdir()	Returns an entry from a directory handle	3
rewinddir()	Resets a directory handle	3
scandir()	Lists files and directories inside a specified path	5

PHP Directory Constants

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the constant.

Constant	Description	PHP
DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR		3
PATH_SEPARATOR		4

PHP Error and Logging Functions

PHP Error and Logging Introduction

The error and logging functions allows error handling and logging.

The error functions allow users to define error handling rules, and modify the way the errors can be logged.

The logging functions allow users to log applications and send log messages to email, system logs or other machines.

Installation

The error and logging functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

PHP Error and Logging Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
debug_backtrace()	Generates a backtrace	4
debug_print_backtrace()	Prints a backtrace	5
error_get_last()	Gets the last error occurred	5
error_log()	Sends an error to the server error-log, to a file or to a remote destination	4
error_reporting()	Specifies which errors are reported	4
restore_error_handler()	Restores the previous error handler	4
restore_exception_handler()	Restores the previous exception handler	5
set_error_handler()	Sets a user-defined function to handle errors	4
set_exception_handler()	Sets a user-defined function to handle exceptions	5
trigger_error()	Creates a user-defined error message	4
user_error()	Alias of trigger_error()	4

PHP Error and Logging Constants

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the constant.

Value	Constant	Description	PHP
1	E_ERROR	Fatal run-time errors. Errors that cannot be recovered from. Execution of the script is halted
2	E_WARNING	Non-fatal run-time errors. Execution of the script is not halted
4	E_PARSE	Compile-time parse errors. Parse errors should only be generated by the parser
8	E_NOTICE	Run-time notices. The script found something that might be an error, but could also happen when running a script normally
16	E_CORE_ERROR	Fatal errors at PHP startup. This is like an E_ERROR in the PHP core	4
32	E_CORE_WARNING	Non-fatal errors at PHP startup. This is like an E_WARNING in the PHP core	4
64	E_COMPILE_ERROR	Fatal compile-time errors. This is like an E_ERROR generated by the Zend Scripting Engine	4
128	E_COMPILE_WARNING	Non-fatal compile-time errors. This is like an E_WARNING generated by the Zend Scripting Engine	4
256	E_USER_ERROR	Fatal user-generated error. This is like an E_ERROR set by the programmer using the PHP function trigger_error()	4
512	E_USER_WARNING	Non-fatal user-generated warning. This is like an E_WARNING set by the programmer using the PHP function trigger_error()	4
1024	E_USER_NOTICE	User-generated notice. This is like an E_NOTICE set by the programmer using the PHP function trigger_error()	4
2048	E_STRICT	Run-time notices. PHP suggest changes to your code to help interoperability and compatibility of the code	5
4096	E_RECOVERABLE_ERROR	Catchable fatal error. This is like an E_ERROR but can be caught by a user defined handle (see also set_error_handler())	5
6143	E_ALL	All errors and warnings, except of level E_STRICT	5

PHP Filesystem Functions

PHP Filesystem Introduction

The filesystem functions allow you to access and manipulate the filesystem.

Installation

The filesystem functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

Runtime Configuration

The behavior of the filesystem functions is affected by settings in php.ini.

Filesystem configuration options:

Name	Default	Description	Changeable
allow_url_fopen	“1”	Allows fopen()-type functions to work with URLs (available since PHP 4.0.4)	PHP_INI_SYSTEM
user_agent	NULL	Defines the user agent for PHP to send (available since PHP 4.3)	PHP_INI_ALL
default_socket_timeout	“60”	Sets the default timeout, in seconds, for socket based streams (available since PHP 4.3)	PHP_INI_ALL
from	“”	Defines the anonymous FTP password (your email address)	PHP_INI_ALL
auto_detect_line_endings	“0”	When set to “1”, PHP will examine the data read by fgets() and file() to see if it is using Unix, MS-Dos or Mac line-ending characters (available since PHP 4.3)	PHP_INI_ALL

Unix / Windows Compatibility

When specifying a path on Unix platforms, the forward slash (/) is used as directory separator. However, on Windows platforms, both forward slash (/) and backslash (\) can be used.

PHP Filesystem Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
basename()	Returns the filename component of a path	3
chgrp()	Changes the file group	3
chmod()	Changes the file mode	3
chown()	Changes the file owner	3
clearstatcache()	Clears the file status cache	3
copy()	Copies a file	3
delete()	See unlink() or unset()
dirname()	Returns the directory name component of a path	3
disk_free_space()	Returns the free space of a directory	4
disk_total_space()	Returns the total size of a directory	4
diskfreespace()	Alias of disk_free_space()	3
fclose()	Closes an open file	3
feof()	Tests for end-of-file on an open file	3
fflush()	Flushes buffered output to an open file	4
fgetc()	Returns a character from an open file	3
fgetcsv()	Parses a line from an open file, checking for CSV fields	3
fgets()	Returns a line from an open file	3
fgetss()	Returns a line, with HTML and PHP tags removed, from an open file	3
file()	Reads a file into an array	3
file_exists()	Checks whether or not a file or directory exists	3
file_get_contents()	Reads a file into a string	4
file_put_contents	Writes a string to a file	5
fileatime()	Returns the last access time of a file	3
filectime()	Returns the last change time of a file	3
filegroup()	Returns the group ID of a file	3
fileinode()	Returns the inode number of a file	3
filemtime()	Returns the last modification time of a file	3
fileowner()	Returns the user ID (owner) of a file	3
fileperms()	Returns the permissions of a file	3
filesize()	Returns the file size	3
filetype()	Returns the file type	3
flock()	Locks or releases a file	3
fnmatch()	Matches a filename or string against a specified pattern	4
fopen()	Opens a file or URL	3
fpassthru()	Reads from an open file, until EOF, and writes the result to the output buffer	3
fputcsv()	Formats a line as CSV and writes it to an open file	5
fputs()	Alias of fwrite()	3
fread()	Reads from an open file	3
fscanf()	Parses input from an open file according to a specified format	4
fseek()	Seeks in an open file	3
fstat()	Returns information about an open file	4
ftell()	Returns the current position in an open file	3
ftruncate()	Truncates an open file to a specified length	4
fwrite()	Writes to an open file	3
glob()	Returns an array of filenames / directories matching a specified pattern	4
is_dir()	Checks whether a file is a directory	3
is_executable()	Checks whether a file is executable	3
is_file()	Checks whether a file is a regular file	3
is_link()	Checks whether a file is a link	3
is_readable()	Checks whether a file is readable	3
is_uploaded_file()	Checks whether a file was uploaded via HTTP POST	3
is_writable()	Checks whether a file is writeable	4
is_writeable()	Alias of is_writable()	3
link()	Creates a hard link	3
linkinfo()	Returns information about a hard link	3
lstat()	Returns information about a file or symbolic link	3
mkdir()	Creates a directory	3
move_uploaded_file()	Moves an uploaded file to a new location	4
parse_ini_file()	Parses a configuration file	4
pathinfo()	Returns information about a file path	4
pclose()	Closes a pipe opened by popen()	3
popen()	Opens a pipe	3
readfile()	Reads a file and writes it to the output buffer	3
readlink()	Returns the target of a symbolic link	3
realpath()	Returns the absolute pathname	4
rename()	Renames a file or directory	3
rewind()	Rewinds a file pointer	3
rmdir()	Removes an empty directory	3
set_file_buffer()	Sets the buffer size of an open file	3
stat()	Returns information about a file	3
symlink()	Creates a symbolic link	3
tempnam()	Creates a unique temporary file	3
tmpfile()	Creates a unique temporary file	3
touch()	Sets access and modification time of a file	3
umask()	Changes file permissions for files	3
unlink()	Deletes a file	3

PHP Filesystem Constants

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the constant.

Constant	Description	PHP
GLOB_BRACE
GLOB_ONLYDIR
GLOB_MARK
GLOB_NOSORT
GLOB_NOCHECK
GLOB_NOESCAPE
PATHINFO_DIRNAME
PATHINFO_BASENAME
PATHINFO_EXTENSION
FILE_USE_INCLUDE_PATH
FILE_APPEND
FILE_IGNORE_NEW_LINES
FILE_SKIP_EMPTY_LINES

PHP Filter Functions

PHP Filter Introduction

This PHP filters is used to validate and filter data coming from insecure sources, like user input.

Installation

The filter functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

PHP Filter Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
filter_has_var()	Checks if a variable of a specified input type exist	5
filter_id()	Returns the ID number of a specified filter	5
filter_input()	Get input from outside the script and filter it	5
filter_input_array()	Get multiple inputs from outside the script and filters them	5
filter_list()	Returns an array of all supported filters	5
filter_var_array()	Get multiple variables and filter them	5
filter_var()	Get a variable and filter it	5

PHP Filters

ID Name	Description
FILTER_CALLBACK	Call a user-defined function to filter data
FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING	Strip tags, optionally strip or encode special characters
FILTER_SANITIZE_STRIPPED	Alias of “string” filter
FILTER_SANITIZE_ENCODED	URL-encode string, optionally strip or encode special characters
FILTER_SANITIZE_SPECIAL_CHARS	HTML-escape ‘”<>& and characters with ASCII value less than 32
FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL	Remove all characters, except letters, digits and !#$%&’*+-/=?^_`{\|}~@.[]
FILTER_SANITIZE_URL	Remove all characters, except letters, digits and $-_.+!*'(),{}\|\\^~[]`<>#%”;/?:@&=
FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_INT	Remove all characters, except digits and +-
FILTER_SANITIZE_NUMBER_FLOAT	Remove all characters, except digits, +- and optionally .,eE
FILTER_SANITIZE_MAGIC_QUOTES	Apply addslashes()
FILTER_UNSAFE_RAW	Do nothing, optionally strip or encode special characters
FILTER_VALIDATE_INT	Validate value as integer, optionally from the specified range
FILTER_VALIDATE_BOOLEAN	Return TRUE for “1”, “true”, “on” and “yes”, FALSE for “0”, “false”, “off”, “no”, and “”, NULL otherwise
FILTER_VALIDATE_FLOAT	Validate value as float
FILTER_VALIDATE_REGEXP	Validate value against regexp, a Perl-compatible regular expression
FILTER_VALIDATE_URL	Validate value as URL, optionally with required components
FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL	Validate value as e-mail
FILTER_VALIDATE_IP	Validate value as IP address, optionally only IPv4 or IPv6 or not from private or reserved ranges

PHP FTP Functions

PHP FTP Introduction

The FTP functions give client access to file servers through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

The FTP functions are used to open, login and close connections, as well as upload, download, rename, delete, and get information on files from file servers. Not all of the FTP functions will work with every server or return the same results. The FTP functions became available with PHP 3.

These functions are meant for detailed access to an FTP server. If you only wish to read from or write to a file on an FTP server, consider using the ftp:// wrapper with the Filesystem functions.

Installation

The windows version of PHP has built-in support for the FTP extension. So, the FTP functions will work automatically.

However, if you are running the Linux version of PHP, you will have to compile PHP with –enable-ftp (PHP 4+) or –with-ftp (PHP 3) to get the FTP functions to work.

PHP FTP Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
ftp_alloc()	Allocates space for a file to be uploaded to the FTP server	5
ftp_cdup()	Changes the current directory to the parent directory on the FTP server	3
ftp_chdir()	Changes the current directory on the FTP server	3
ftp_chmod()	Sets permissions on a file via FTP	5
ftp_close()	Closes an FTP connection	4
ftp_connect()	Opens an FTP connection	3
ftp_delete()	Deletes a file on the FTP server	3
ftp_exec()	Executes a program/command on the FTP server	4
ftp_fget()	Downloads a file from the FTP server and saves it to an open file	3
ftp_fput()	Uploads from an open file and saves it to a file on the FTP server	3
ftp_get_option()	Returns runtime behaviors of the FTP connection	4
ftp_get()	Downloads a file from the FTP server	3
ftp_login()	Logs on to an FTP connection	3
ftp_mdtm()	Returns the last modified time of a specified file	3
ftp_mkdir()	Creates a new directory on the FTP server	3
ftp_nb_continue()	Continues retrieving/sending a file (non-blocking)	4
ftp_nb_fget()	Downloads a file from the FTP server and saves it to an open file (non-blocking)	4
ftp_nb_fput()	Uploads from an open file and saves it to a file on the FTP server (non-blocking)	4
ftp_nb_get()	Downloads a file from the FTP server (non-blocking)	4
ftp_nb_put()	Uploads a file to the FTP server (non-blocking)	4
ftp_nlist()	Lists the files in a specified directory on the FTP server	3
ftp_pasv()	Turns passive mode on or off	3
ftp_put()	Uploads a file to the FTP server	3
ftp_pwd()	Returns the current directory name	3
ftp_quit()	Alias of ftp_close()	3
ftp_raw()	Sends a raw command to the FTP server	5
ftp_rawlist()	Returns a detailed list of files in the specified directory	3
ftp_rename()	Renames a file or directory on the FTP server	3
ftp_rmdir()	Removes a directory on the FTP server	3
ftp_set_option()	Sets runtime options for the FTP connection	4
ftp_site()	Sends a SITE command to the server	3
ftp_size()	Returns the size of the specified file	3
ftp_ssl_connect()	Opens a secure SSL-FTP connection	4
ftp_systype()	Returns the system type identifier of the FTP server	3

PHP FTP Constants

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the constant.

Constant	Description	PHP
FTP_ASCII		3
FTP_TEXT		3
FTP_BINARY		3
FTP_IMAGE		3
FTP_TIMEOUT_SEC		3
FTP_AUTOSEEK		4
FTP_AUTORESUME	Determine resume position and start position for get and put requests automatically	4
FTP_FAILED	Asynchronous transfer has failed	4
FTP_FINISHED	Asynchronous transfer has finished	4
FTP_MOREDATA	Asynchronous transfer is still active	4

PHP HTTP Functions

PHP HTTP Introduction

The HTTP functions let you manipulate information sent to the browser by the Web server, before any other output has been sent.

Installation

The directory functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

PHP HTTP Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
header()	Sends a raw HTTP header to a client	3
headers_list()	Returns a list of response headers sent (or ready to send)	5
headers_sent()	Checks if / where the HTTP headers have been sent	3
setcookie()	Sends an HTTP cookie to a client	3
setrawcookie()	Sends an HTTP cookie without URL encoding the cookie value	5

PHP HTTP Constants

None.

PHP libxml Functions

PHP libxml Introduction

The libxml functions and constants are used together with SimpleXML, XSLT and DOM functions.

Installation

These functions require the libxml package. Download at xmlsoft.org

PHP libxml Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
libxml_clear_errors()	Clear libxml error buffer	5
libxml_get_errors()	Retrieve array of errors	5
libxml_get_last_error()	Retrieve last error from libxml	5
libxml_set_streams_context()	Set the streams context for the next libxml document load or write	5
libxml_use_internal_errors()	Disable libxml errors and allow user to fetch error information as needed	5

PHP libxml Constants

Function	Description	PHP
LIBXML_COMPACT	Set small nodes allocation optimization. This may improve the application performance	5
LIBXML_DTDATTR	Set default DTD attributes	5
LIBXML_DTDLOAD	Load external subset	5
LIBXML_DTDVALID	Validate with the DTD	5
LIBXML_NOBLANKS	Remove blank nodes	5
LIBXML_NOCDATA	Set CDATA as text nodes	5
LIBXML_NOEMPTYTAG	Change empty tags (e.g. <br/> to <br></br>), only available in the DOMDocument->save() and DOMDocument->saveXML() functions	5
LIBXML_NOENT	Substitute entities	5
LIBXML_NOERROR	Do not show error reports	5
LIBXML_NONET	Stop network access while loading documents	5
LIBXML_NOWARNING	Do not show warning reports	5
LIBXML_NOXMLDECL	Drop the XML declaration when saving a document	5
LIBXML_NSCLEAN	Remove excess namespace declarations	5
LIBXML_XINCLUDE	Use XInclude substitution	5
LIBXML_ERR_ERROR	Get recoverable errors	5
LIBXML_ERR_FATAL	Get fatal errors	5
LIBXML_ERR_NONE	Get no errors	5
LIBXML_ERR_WARNING	Get simple warnings	5
LIBXML_VERSION	Get libxml version (e.g. 20605 or 20617)	5
LIBXML_DOTTED_VERSION	Get dotted libxml version (e.g. 2.6.5 or 2.6.17)	5

PHP Mail Functions

PHP Mail Introduction

The mail() function allows you to send emails directly from a script.

Requirements

For the mail functions to be available, PHP requires an installed and working email system. The program to be used is defined by the configuration settings in the php.ini file.

Installation

The mail functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

Runtime Configuration

The behavior of the mail functions is affected by settings in the php.ini file.

Mail configuration options:

Name	Default	Description	Changeable
SMTP	“localhost”	Windows only: The DNS name or IP address of the SMTP server	PHP_INI_ALL
smtp_port	“25”	Windows only: The SMTP port number. Available since PHP 4.3	PHP_INI_ALL
sendmail_from	NULL	Windows only: Specifies the “from” address to be used in email sent from PHP	PHP_INI_ALL
sendmail_path	NULL	Unix systems only: Specifies where the sendmail program can be found (usually /usr/sbin/sendmail or /usr/lib/sendmail)	PHP_INI_SYSTEM

PHP Mail Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
ezmlm_hash()	Calculates the hash value needed by the EZMLM mailing list system	3
mail()	Allows you to send emails directly from a script	3

PHP Mail Constants

None.

PHP Math Functions

PHP Math Introduction

The math functions can handle values within the range of integer and float types.

Installation

The math functions are part of the PHP core. There is no installation needed to use these functions.

PHP Math Functions

PHP: indicates the earliest version of PHP that supports the function.

Function	Description	PHP
abs()	Returns the absolute value of a number	3
acos()	Returns the arccosine of a number	3
acosh()	Returns the inverse hyperbolic cosine of a number	4
asin()	Returns the arcsine of a number	3
asinh()	Returns the inverse hyperbolic sine of a number	4
atan()	Returns the arctangent of a number as a numeric value between -PI/2 and PI/2 radians	3
atan2()	Returns the angle theta of an (x,y) point as a numeric value between -PI and PI radians	3
atanh()	Returns the inverse hyperbolic tangent of a number	4
base_convert()	Converts a number from one base to another	3
bindec()	Converts a binary number to a decimal number	3
ceil()	Returns the value of a number rounded upwards to the nearest integer	3
cos()	Returns the cosine of a number	3
cosh()	Returns the hyperbolic cosine of a number<%