Equipped with real-world examples, this book teaches you all the essence of server-side programming, from the basics of PHP and MySQL coding to advanced topics such as form validation, session IDs, cookies, database queries and joins, file I / O operation, content management, and more. Head First PHP & MySQL offers the same rich visual format that changes every title in the bestselling Head First series, with many exercises, quizzes, puzzles, and other interactive features to help you maintain what you have learned. Use PHP to transform static HTML pages into dynamic web sites Create and fill in your own MySQL database table, and work with data stored in files Perform advanced query by joining MySQL, and improve your results with LIMIT and ORDER BY use cookies and sessions to track visitors' login information and personalize the site for users Protect your data from SQL injection attacks Use regular expressions to validate information on forms dynamically display text based on session info and create images on the fly Pull syndicated data from other sites using PHP and XML Throughout the book, You will develop sophisticated examples - including a mailing list, job board, and an online dating site - to help you learn how to harness the power of PHP and MySQL in various contexts.