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PHP is a server-side scripting language that enables you to develop dynamic sites that engage users in ways that are simply not possible using only HTML and CSS. PHP for Absolute Beginners takes a practical approach to teaching you how to build dynamic content for your website using PHP. You´ll quickly get started with practical PHP projects, learning how to build a dynamic image gallery. By the end of the book you´ll will have developed a personal blog complete with a password protected admin module.

PHP for Absolute Beginners won´t swamp you with every detail of the full PHP language up front – instead, you´ll be introduced to a small, versatile subset of PHP and learn to use it creatively to develop dynamic web sites. In the process you will learn to use variables, control structures, functions, and objects to your advantage. You will learn how to plan and create databases and how to organize your PHP scripts beautifully. At the end of the book, you will be a confident PHP user, ready to take the next steps in creating great websites.

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1. Setting Up a PHP Development Environment
2. Understanding PHP: Language Basics
3. Form Management
4. Building a Dynamic Image Gallery with Image Upload
5. Spicing Up Your Image Gallery with JavaScript and CSS
6. Working with Databases
7. Building the Entry Manager
8. Showing Blog Entries
9. Deleting and Updating Blog Entries
10. Improving Your Blog with User Comments and Search
11. Adding Images to Blog Entries
12. Password Protection
13. Going Public with Your Blog

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Jason Lengstorf is a 27-year-old turbogeek from Portland, OR. He started building websites in his late teens when his band couldn t afford to pay someone to do it, and he continued building websites after he realized his band wasn t actually very good. He s been a full-time freelance web developer since 2007, and expanded his business under the name Copter Labs, which is now a distributed freelance collective, keeping about 10 freelancers worldwide busy. He is also the author of PHP for Absolute Beginners and Pro PHP and jQuery.

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