does anyone have good links for PHP tutorials?

(yes I have used google already) so Does anyone know any good links for PHP tutorials. I've read a few tutorials so I already know the BASIC basics. Thanx!

http//www.w3schools.com

http//www.htmlite.com/PHPintro.php - Pretty basic, but it's a nice intro to PHP

http//www.php.net - Always a good resource

php.net is absolutly fantastic when it comes to very freakin' function and technique you could imagine, but its only good when you need something on the fly.
If you're looking for a great resource, (I hope this doesn't break rules by offsite linking) I'd check out this thread on Newgrounds.com - its got some pretty fucking fantastic PHP tutorials (all user submitted)

http//newgrounds.com/bbs/topic.php?id=372890&page=8

[quotefbafe9edaf="FreeOffersNow"]http//www.htmlite.com/PHPintro.php - Pretty basic, but it's a nice intro to PHP

http//www.php.net - Always a good resource[/quotefbafe9edaf]

I learned from PHP.net and it's really great for anything.

have a few pdf's regarding PHP(Wileys I think). Havent checked it out much as I havent needed to use that technology as of yet. Drop me a PM if interetsted and Ill see what I can do to get you some docs

Oh yea...I almost forgot, I have the SAMS PHP & MySQL Development ebook, too ;)

PM me to discuss

thanx for those tuts.... can someone explain to me though... i know how to make a form using html and PHP and the GET command so the url of "form.php" will display cat or something if "form.php?name=cat" or whatever, but how can I make it so when links throughout my site are like that?
EX
Main pages link is index.php
Main page has a link to "Cats"
Cats page link is index.php?page=cats and it has it's own unique content but without the "page=cats" or similar after "index.php" it is just index and there can be other "page=... " things ? Sort of like in the forums where there is "viewforum.php?f=8" and that has it's own content and "viewforum.php?f=4" and that has it's unique content... Does anyone understand? Thanx!

This script is off the top of my head, but here goes

[code12c0475e6c3]
<?PHP
if($_GET['page']=='') {
echo 'index content - no page selected';
}else if($_GET['page']=='cats') {
echo 'cats content';
}
?>
[/code12c0475e6c3]

And so on. There are much better ways of going about this (arrays) but this is the most secure, down and dirty way.

that seems logical. i guess i just didn't know you could use GET without a form. hmm. ill try it! thanx!

it didn't work completly..... the code I used is...
[code1d16d8c81d9]
<?php
if($_GET['p']=='') {
echo 'this is the index';
if($_GET['p']=='cats') {
echo 'this is the cats page';
}
?>
[/code1d16d8c81d9]
now, if i view "mysite/ptest.php?p=", it echos correctly without errors.
if i enter "mysite/ptest.php?p=cats", it also echos correctly. if i just put "mysite/ptest.php" it shows the index text, but displays an error too. this is the complete text it shows if I only enter "mysite/ptest.php" without the "?p= ..."
[code1d16d8c81d9]
this is the index
Notice: Undefined index: p in c:\program files\easyphp1-8\www\ptest.php on line 3
[/code1d16d8c81d9]
can someone please tell me why?

ooooooh. lol. i figured it out. i had to add a if GET == NULL
this is the code I got to work.
[code1b12d4180a9]
<?php
if($_GET==NULL) {
echo 'this is the index';
}else if($_GET['p']=='') {
echo 'this is the index';
}else if($_GET['p']=='cats') {
echo 'this is the cats page';
}
?>
[/code1b12d4180a9]

you need to close the curley bracket, friend.

I've fixed your script

[code12000d37887]
<?php
if($_GET['p']=='') {
echo 'this is the index';
}
else if($_GET['p']=='cats') {
echo 'this is the cats page';
}
?> [/code12000d37887]

Oh, that too. Sorry I was slow (

How easy is PHP to learn for an absolute beginner like myself?

I was thinking of learning it just for sake of learning it. Knowledge is power.

[quote92eb3d271a="theysayjump"]How easy is PHP to learn for an absolute beginner like myself?

I was thinking of learning it just for sake of learning it. Knowledge is power.[/quote92eb3d271a]
i think quite easy.
i just started learning it today. lol. this[=http//www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php/]this is a good beginners tutorial. i also like using Notepad++ [=http//notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm] Notepad++ for editing.

PHP is fantastic. Unless you are a unix junkie (then perl might be more up your alley - a bit more flexibility) its a great all around language and has a very gradual learning curve.

[quoteaf48ff633b="cwncool"]ooooooh. lol. i figured it out. i had to add a if GET == NULL
this is the code I got to work.
[code1af48ff633b]
<?php
if($_GET==NULL) {
echo 'this is the index';
}else if($_GET['p']=='') {
echo 'this is the index';
}else if($_GET['p']=='cats') {
echo 'this is the cats page';
}
?>
[/code1af48ff633b][/quoteaf48ff633b]

Here's how I'd do it
[code1af48ff633b]
if(!isset($_GET['p']) || empty($_GET['p']))
{
echo "Index content";
}
elseif($_GET['p'] == 'cats')
{
echo "Cat content";
}
[/code1af48ff633b]

If you're going to stick with this method and have a lot of different content pages, you might want to implement a switch()
[code1af48ff633b]
if(!isset($_GET['p'])) $_GET['p'] = ""; //ensure it's set
switch($_GET['p'])
{
case "cats": echo "Cats content."; break;
case "dogs": echo "Dogs content."; break;
case "":
default: echo "Index content."; break;

}
[/code1af48ff633b]

I recommend against using this type of script to load many pages from one page. A user could enter a URL for the "page" variable and possible screw things up. Besides, your script will get pretty dirty and unorganized once you start adding lots of content to each "page".

However, I also recommend w3schools for tutorials as well as other misc. sites you can find by doing a Google search.

@TSJ It shouldn't be too hard....I learned to script w/ PHP when I was about 13. Good luck!

[quote8f48e54ab2="Admin"][quote8f48e54ab2="cwncool"]ooooooh. lol. i figured it out. i had to add a if GET == NULL
this is the code I got to work.
[code18f48e54ab2]
<?php
if($_GET==NULL) {
echo 'this is the index';
}else if($_GET['p']=='') {
echo 'this is the index';
}else if($_GET['p']=='cats') {
echo 'this is the cats page';
}
?>
[/code18f48e54ab2][/quote8f48e54ab2]

Here's how I'd do it
[code18f48e54ab2]
if(!isset($_GET['p']) || empty($_GET['p']))
{
echo "Index content";
}
elseif($_GET['p'] == 'cats')
{
echo "Cat content";
}
[/code18f48e54ab2]

If you're going to stick with this method and have a lot of different content pages, you might want to implement a switch()
[code18f48e54ab2]
if(!isset($_GET['p'])) $_GET['p'] = ""; //ensure it's set
switch($_GET['p'])
{
case "cats": echo "Cats content."; break;
case "dogs": echo "Dogs content."; break;
case "":
default: echo "Index content."; break;

}
[/code18f48e54ab2][/quote8f48e54ab2]
ill try that. thanx!

[quote811863e686="cwncool"][quote811863e686="theysayjump"]How easy is PHP to learn for an absolute beginner like myself?

I was thinking of learning it just for sake of learning it. Knowledge is power.[/quote811863e686]
i think quite easy.
i just started learning it today. lol. this[=http//www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php/]this is a good beginners tutorial. i also like using Notepad++ [=http//notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm] Notepad++ for editing.[/quote811863e686]

gvim is also a great editor for php among other things, nice color coding, makes it easy to tell if uve forgotten sumthing necessary )

If you want a free full-featured PHP IDE, download Eclipse and the PHPEclipse plugin. I use Eclipse and Eclipse-based tools in my job every day for Java development, and have recently started playing around with the PHPEclipse plugin. Very nice.

http//www.eclipse.org

http//www.phpeclipse.de/tiki-view_articles.php

hot damn theres a php eclipse plugin? i friggin love eclipse, ill have to try it out

just buy a book

[quote58c025bf9e="cwncool"]thanx for those tuts.... can someone explain to me though... i know how to make a form using html and PHP and the GET command so the url of "form.php" will display cat or something if "form.php?name=cat" or whatever, but how can I make it so when links throughout my site are like that?
EX
Main pages link is index.php
Main page has a link to "Cats"
Cats page link is index.php?page=cats and it has it's own unique content but without the "page=cats" or similar after "index.php" it is just index and there can be other "page=... " things ? Sort of like in the forums where there is "viewforum.php?f=8" and that has it's own content and "viewforum.php?f=4" and that has it's unique content... Does anyone understand? Thanx![/quote58c025bf9e]

Tutorials here[=http//codegrrl.com/!/tutorials/view/dynamic_includes/]Tutorials here

can someone tell me how to echo a random picture? I tried this, but all the page shows is "1" . Just like that. all it echos is the number 1....

[code1f7ce2814ec]
<?php
$cat = "<img src = http://www.clock.org/~ambar/cats/jpgs/cory-kitten.gif>";
$puppy = "<img src = http://www.sendthisnow.com/blog/hello/10/2920/640/pups4wks_097a.2.jpg>";
$random = "$cat" || "$puppy";

echo "$random";
?>
[/code1f7ce2814ec]
that's what i tried....

See Below

[quotee8525598b4="mpj31"]
What you are saying with

$image = $puppy || $cat;

is if $puppy == NULL then $image = $puppy...
but since u defined puppy then it isnt null 100% of the time.[/quotee8525598b4]

Not really, no. What that code does is evaluate the boolean expression ($puppy || $cat) - since both $puppy and $cat are defined and not empty, $image gets assigned boolean 'true'. when you echo a boolean variable, it displays 1 if true and 0 if false, which is why he was getting a 1.

yea thats what i meant...if it returns 0 it 'breaks' or doesnt go any further on and therefore $cat is never reached if $puppy is 0. Since puppy was clearly defined and is never going to be 0 then $cat is never echoed.

ugg. i tried this...
[code1cf871d040e]
<?php
$n = rand(0,1);
$img[0] = "img/cat.gif";
$img[1] = "img/pup.jpeg";
$image = "img/'.$img[$n].'";

echo "$n";

?>
[/code1cf871d040e]
but it doesn't work now. it either displays a 0 or a 1.....

Delete me.

thanx, but im getting some crap. it cant locate my image. it's working, but it shows me this...
[code17dd4d1016e]

img/'.img/cat.gif.'
Debug Menu

$n: 0
$img[$n]: img/cat.gif
$image: img/'.img/cat.gif.'
[/code17dd4d1016e]
and the image is a little "broken image" square. the script is in the root directory and the pics are in "/img" directory. help?

btw. i replied to your PM

You add the image directory twice, once when you define the images, and a second time when you output the image.

[quote0c68255154="Admin"]
If you're going to stick with this method and have a lot of different content pages, you might want to implement a switch()
[code10c68255154]
if(!isset($_GET['p'])) $_GET['p'] = ""; //ensure it's set
switch($_GET['p'])
{
case "cats": echo "Cats content."; break;
case "dogs": echo "Dogs content."; break;
case "":
default: echo "Index content."; break;

}
[/code10c68255154][/quote0c68255154]
sorry to bring up an old thread, but it was my thread and this is relevant.

could instead of echoing all of the content on the one page, because that would be very large, could I use this code and just include the pages with the content for each of those cases?

[code10c68255154]
if(!isset($_GET['p'])) $_GET['p'] = ""; //ensure it's set
switch($_GET['p'])
{
case "cats": include 'cat.php' ; break;
case "dogs": include 'dogs.php' ; break;
case "rabbits": include 'rabbits.php' ; break;
default: include 'index_content.php' ; break;

}
[/code10c68255154]

Yes, of course you can.