PHP Basics

Learn the language before the framework

PHP powers a huge part of the web. This course teaches the language itself, from your first echo to a complete, secure web application, with no framework in sight. Frameworks come and go; the fundamentals here apply to all of them, and they make any framework much easier to learn later.

The course is split into eleven modules. Each module focuses on one topic, teaches it thoroughly with runnable examples, and ends with a quiz. You need to pass each quiz to unlock the next module, so every new idea builds on something you have already mastered.

What you will learn

• How PHP runs, running scripts in the terminal and in the built in web server, and reading error messages
• Variables, constants, types, operators, type juggling and strict comparison
• Strings: interpolation, heredoc, string functions and formatting output
• Control flow with if, match and every kind of loop
• Indexed, associative and nested arrays, sorting, and array_map, array_filter and array_reduce
• Typed functions, named arguments, closures and arrow functions
• Object oriented PHP: classes, visibility, inheritance, interfaces, traits and enums
• Exceptions, files, CSV, JSON and dates
• Forms, validation, escaping, sessions, password hashing and databases with PDO
• Namespaces, autoloading and Composer
• Building a secure guestbook application in plain PHP

How the course works

• 47 short lessons, each with examples you can type and run
• A quiz at the end of every module, with explanations for every answer
• A timed final exam that draws questions from the whole course
• A certificate of completion when you finish
• A printable two page PHP cheat sheet (PDF) to keep