Learn PHP language basics and how to write PHP server-side scripts to produce professional web programming results. Updated for PHP 8
View or download first chapter and Table of Contents – FREE!
PHP in easy steps, 4th edition demonstrates every aspect of the language you’ll need to produce professional web programming results. Its examples provide clear syntax-highlighted code, which is freely downloadable, showing PHP language basics including variables, arrays, logic, looping, functions and classes.
- Install a free web server and the PHP interpreter to create an environment in which you can produce your own data-driven web pages.
- Write PHP server-side scripts; master PHP operators and control structures; process HTML form data; get cookies and session data; access Web Services APIs over HTTP… and much more!
PHP in easy steps, 4th edition is ideal for PHP newbies who want to quickly learn the fundamentals of server-side programming with PHP and create interactive web pages. Also, useful for PHP pros who want to grasp the new PHP 8 features and achieve optimum performance!
Updated for PHP 8.

About the author
Mike McGrath now lives in South-east Europe, on the sun-kissed shores of the Aegean Sea. Mike gained his extensive knowledge of computer languages while working as a developer contracting to companies around the world. His interests include coins of ancient Greece, dining-out with friends, and the ongoing evolution of the world wide web.
Freely download the original source code for checking against your own work from our Downloads page
Page 48 corrected – the “$parity = ( $number % 2 != 0) ? ‘Odd’ : ‘Even’ ;” example has been corrected.