PHP Foundations: From Zero to Your First Database App

Before you start

• You can create files and folders and open a text editor (VS Code is free)
• You have seen HTML before — you know what a <form> and a <p> are
• No prior programming is assumed

Curriculum

Lesson 1 is free to read, no account needed. The rest unlock the moment you buy.

1. 1 How PHP works: the request, the server and your first script Preview free What happens between a browser asking for a page and PHP answering, where your code runs, how to get PHP on your own machine in ten minutes, and the one habit that makes everything after this easier. 4 min
2. 2 Variables, types and the rules of the language The handful of syntax rules PHP never bends, the types you'll actually use, why "1" + 1 works and when it will hurt you, and how to write strings that don't fight back. 3 min
3. 3 Making decisions and repeating yourself — control flow if/elseif/else, the modern match expression, every loop you'll need and the two you'll actually use, plus how to stop a loop early without making a mess. 3 min
4. 4 Functions — the unit of code you can trust Writing your own functions with typed parameters and return values, default and named arguments, why scope is a feature, and the built-in functions worth memorising. 4 min
5. 5 Arrays — PHP's one data structure, and how to think in it Lists and maps, nested arrays that mirror your database rows, the functions that replace most loops, sorting properly, and the three warnings that mean you assumed a key existed. 3 min
6. 6 Strings — searching, slicing, formatting and not breaking Unicode The string functions that matter, sprintf and number_format for money, why "Ravi" and "रवि" need different functions, and building URL-safe slugs and clean output. 3 min
7. 7 Forms — taking input without trusting it GET vs POST, reading $_GET and $_POST, a validation pattern you can reuse on every form, showing errors next to fields, and the redirect that stops double submissions. 4 min
8. 8 Sessions, cookies and a login that isn't embarrassing How PHP remembers a visitor between requests, cookies vs sessions, hashing passwords the right way, a complete login/logout flow, and the flash message you promised yourself last lesson. 3 min
9. 9 Files, JSON and uploads that don't get you hacked Reading and writing files, using JSON as a lightweight store, paths that work on any server, and the upload checklist — type, size, name, location — that most tutorials skip. 3 min
10. 10 MySQL with PDO — create, read, update, delete, safely Designing a small table, connecting with PDO, prepared statements as the only way you'll ever put a variable into SQL, the four CRUD operations, and the one-page pattern behind every admin panel. 4 min
11. 11 Errors, exceptions and debugging without panic The kinds of errors PHP raises and what each one is telling you, exceptions and try/catch, logging on a live site, a ten-minute debugging method, and the mistakes that account for most beginner hours lost. 4 min
12. 12 Security basics, structure, and putting your app on real hosting The four attacks every PHP app must handle (XSS, SQL injection, CSRF, broken access control), a folder structure that scales past one file, and a step-by-step deploy of the contacts app to Hostinger-style shared hosting. 5 min

How it works

1. 1 · Buy once

   One payment in your own currency, no subscription. Your account is created from the email you pay with.

2. 2 · Log in and read

   Every lesson opens in your account on any device. Mark each one done and pick up where you left off.

3. 3 · Keep the Word file

   The whole course as a .docx — annotate it, print it, read it offline. Re-download it any time from your orders.

Where this course fits

1. PHP Foundations · you are here
2. →
3. PHP in Practice
4. →
5. Advanced PHP Architecture
6. →
7. AI for PHP Developers

Questions about this course