Publishing in tandem with the long-awaited release of PHP 6, this book reveals the inside scoop for pushing the limits of how to maximize the full feature set of PHP 6. You’ll learn how to use PHP 6 in the larger scheme of enterprise-class software development and practical examples and behind-the-scenes information will improve your skills for designing and building better large-scale, high-performance platforms using PHP 6.
Introduction
Professional PHP6 was written for PHP developers who are interested in expanding and leveraging their
development skills by taking advantage of the features of the sixth major release. This demographic is
not set in stone, of course, because experienced .NET and Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) developers
should catch on quickly, too. However, inexperienced PHP developers (or those with no software
development experience) are highly encouraged to start with Beginning PHP6, Apache, MySQL 6 Web
Development (Wiley, 2009).
Professional PHP6 was written for PHP developers who are interested in expanding and leveraging their
development skills by taking advantage of the features of the sixth major release. This demographic is
not set in stone, of course, because experienced .NET and Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) developers
should catch on quickly, too. However, inexperienced PHP developers (or those with no software
development experience) are highly encouraged to start with Beginning PHP6, Apache, MySQL 6 Web
Development (Wiley, 2009).
What Does This Book Cover?
The beauty of PHP is its accessibility and shallow learning curve. Virtually anyone with basic computing
knowledge can pick it up and start putting together simple, dynamic Web sites. Indeed, it is qualities like
these that have led to PHP powering more than 20 million Web sites across the globe, a figure that is
growing by the thousands every day. However, that very accessibility has led to a lack of uniformity in
development approach, and perhaps an absence of the application of industry - standard best practices.
Put simply, a lot of PHP code isn ’ t that great .
As a result, this book ventures beyond mere syntax and is designed to help you deliver better - quality
software in a shorter amount of time. If you ’ ve ever been told not to use PHP because it ’ s “ not enterprise
grade, ” then this book is for you, because you ’ re about to learn how to prove such doubters wrong.
Much of what you ’ ll learn (although written with PHP6 in mind) is not limited to the PHP language.
Many of the development techniques are directly translatable into other traditional high - level languages,
and the skills you ’ ll learn here will follow you the rest of your career.
Who Is This Book For?
This book covers some advanced techniques in PHP, so the book assumes that you have a solid
grounding in the basics of PHP application development. You don ’ t necessarily have to be familiar with
PHP6 to get started, however. If you ’ ve been working in PHP5 until the recent launch of version 6, you ’ ll
be fine. Throughout the book, the authors have carefully ensured that any differences between PHP6 and
PHP5 are highlighted prominently. If you ’ re still plodding along with PHP4, don ’ t worry — you won ’ t
be left behind either — just be sure that you start right at the beginning.
To sum it up, the authors assume that you have what might be called a working knowledge of PHP. If you
have that and are eager to learn how you can become a true PHP professional , then this book is for you.
You might be a Web developer for a big software company. Your company may have been working in
PHP for years, or maybe it ’ s eager to take the first steps away from .NET, Java, and other Web
development platforms in an effort to discover the myriad of benefits associated with PHP.