Summary and Resources

In this series opener, you saw what actually goes into making rock-solid code. Making big-applications in PHP is not at all difficult if you work carefully. In fact, many applications in PHP have been developed single-handedly. At the same time, it is important to realize that you can easily fall into traps. As long as you plan, break things down into smaller tasks, and implement them properly -- little else should get in your way.

In the next installment, you will learn how to employ variables and functions efficiently. As a bonus, I will show you how to do some magic with variables and functions in PHP. We planned our flight in this article. We will get many more things in place after the next article -- perhaps even fly. Until then, bon voyage.

• Visit phpbuilder.com for numerous beginner to intermediate level tutorials and resources.
  
  
• Push your skills further with the discussion groups, articles and many other tips at Zend, the company that makes PHP.
  
  
• Try the PHPDocumentor tool, written in PHP, to extract documentation from your files.
  
  
• Explore the many beginner guides at Weberdev.com for information on using PHP in real-life.
  
  
• Just starting with PHP? Read "Introduction to PHP," a good place to start (developerWorks, December 2000).
  
  
• Read "Script Web databases quickly with PHP scripting language" for a gentle introduction on making PHP and databases work together (developerWorks, September 1999).
  
  
• Learn the finer aspects of coding with PHP and MySQL in the article, "Creating dynamic Web sites with PHP and MySQL" (developerWorks, May 2001).
  
  
• Find out more on applying your new PHP skills in real-life with "Personalized Web sites in a jiffy" (developerWorks, September 2000).
  
  
• Check out Leon Atkinson's Core PHP Programming, a practical guide to PHP 4 for Web developers.