Web Programming using PHP/MySQL Part 1

PHP is a is a widely used open-source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for back-end web development and can be embedded into HTML. Popular in the industry, it has been used to create many sites on the web, including Facebook, Wikipedia, Tumblr, Slack, Etsy and WordPress.

This PHP web development course teaches the fundamentals of programming, which can be applied to any computing language. It then focuses on how these fundamentals can be applied to the PHP language to create server-side code and develop dynamic websites.

By the end of the course, you will be able to

• Understand the basics of computer programming constructs
• Apply programming constructs in PHP
• Write and debug procedural PHP scripts
• Build websites with easily updatable content
• Read and write data from/to a website
• Create dynamic pages and image galleries
• Create user forms to interact with website visitors
• Use PHP to send emails.

Who is it for?

If you are already familiar with HTML, this course will enable you to build more powerful web solutions. You will advance to dynamic website/intranet programming and applications using the open-source PHP scripting language.

Timetable

This practical course takes place over ten weekly evenings.

City Short Courses follow the academic year, delivering courses over three terms. These include:

• Autumn - October
• Spring - January
• Summer - April

Benefits

• Delivered by an industry professional
• Taught in small groups
• Awarded a City, University of London certificate

Programming

• Resources and tools e.g. manuals, books, websites, and development environments.
• Basics of programming - variables, constants, data types, operators, expressions, control structures & decision making, functions, type-casting, program flow
• Documenting your code.
• Organising your application
• Finding and fixing bugs in your code

PHP Basics

• What it is and what it can be used for.
• Static vs dynamic pages.
• Client-side vs server-side scripting.
• Obtaining PHP software.

Coding with PHP

• Creating Dynamic web pages
• Creating reusable content – headers, footers and navigation
• File reading and writing
• Create an image gallery
• Creating web forms
• Validating user data
• Send emails from a website

You will be awarded an official City, University of London certificate if you attend over 70 per cent of the classes. The course is not formally accredited.

Assessment

Class time consists of theory supported by live coding, problem solving exercises and discussion in class. You will be provided with extensive notes and code packages. Homework exercises are available, for which individual feedback can be given.

Successful completion of Building Websites with HTML5 and CSS3 or good understanding of HTML, CSS and how web pages work.

English requirements

Applicants must be proficient in written and spoken English.