Introduction When the first edition of PHP Solutions was published, I was concerned that the subtitle, Dynamic Web Design Made Easy, sounded overambitious. PHP is not difficult, but nor is it like an instant cake mix: just add water and stir. Every website is different, so it s impossible to grab a script, paste it into a web page, and expect it to work. My aim was to help web designers with little or no knowledge of programming gain the confidence to dive into the code and adjust it to their own requirements. The enduring popularity of the first edition suggests that many readers took up the challenge. Part of the book s success stemmed from the use of clear, straightforward language, highlighting points where you might make mistakes, with advice on how to solve problems. Another factor was its emphasis on forward and backward compatibility. The solutions were based on PHP 5, but alternatives were provided for readers still stuck on PHP 4. Time has moved on. PHP 5 is now a mature and stable platform. This new edition of PHP Solutions requires PHP 5.2 and MySQL 4.1 or later. Some code will work with earlier versions, but most of it won t. The emphasis on future compatibility remains unchanged. All the code in this book avoids features destined for removal when work resumes on PHP 6 (at the time of this writing, it s not known when that will be).
About the Author: David Powers is an Adobe Community Expert for Dreamweaver and author of a series of highly successful books on PHP, including PHP Solutions: Dynamic Web Design Made Easy and Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8. As a professional writer, he has been involved in electronic media for more than 30 years, first with BBC radio and television and more recently with the Internet. His clear writing style is valued not only in the English-speaking world; several of his books have been translated into Spanish and Polish. What started as a mild interest in computing was transformed almost overnight into a passion, when David was posted to Japan in 1987 as BBC correspondent in Tokyo. With no corporate IT department just down the hallway, he was forced to learn how to fix everything himself. When not tinkering with the innards of his computer, he was reporting for BBC television and radio on the rise and collapse of the Japanese bubble economy. Since leaving the BBC to work independently, he has built up an online bilingual database of economic and political analysis for Japanese clients of an international consultancy. When not pounding the keyboard writing books or dreaming of new ways of using PHP and other programming languages, David enjoys nothing better than visiting his favorite sushi restaurant. He has also translated several plays from Japanese.