01_575872 ffirs.qxd 5/27/05 6:16 PM Page iii PHP & MySQL® Everyday Apps FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Janet Valade 01_575872 ffirs.qxd 5/27/05 6:16 PM Page ii 01_575872 ffirs.qxd 5/27/05 6:16 PM Page i PHP & MySQL® Everyday Apps FOR DUMmIES ‰ 01_575872 ffirs.qxd 5/27/05 6:16 PM Page ii 01_575872 ffirs.qxd 5/27/05 6:16 PM Page iii PHP & MySQL® Everyday Apps FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Janet Valade 01_575872 ffirs.qxd 5/27/05 6:16 PM Page iv PHP & MySQL®Everyday Apps For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2005923782 ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-7587-7 ISBN-10: 0-7645-7587-2 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1O/SQ/QW/QV/IN 01_575872 ffirs.qxd 5/27/05 6:16 PM Page v About the Author Janet Valade has 20 years of experience in the computing field. Her back- ground includes work as a technical writer for several companies, as a Web designer/programmer for an engineering firm, and as a systems analyst in a university environment where, for over ten years, she supervised the installa- tion and operation of computing resources, designed and developed a state- wide data archive, provided technical support to faculty and staff, wrote numerous technical papers and documentation, and designed and presented seminars and workshops on a variety of technology topics. Janet currently has two published books: PHP & MySQL For Dummies,2nd Edition, and PHP 5 For Dummies.In addition, she has authored chapters for several Linux and Web development books. 01_575872 ffirs.qxd 5/27/05 6:16 PM Page vi 01_575872 ffirs.qxd 5/27/05 6:16 PM Page vii Dedication This book is dedicated to anyone who finds it useful. Author’s Acknowledgments I wish to express my appreciation to the entire Open Source community. Without those people who give their time and talent, there would be no cool PHP for me to write about. Furthermore, I never would have learned this soft- ware without the PHP lists where people generously spend their time answer- ing foolish questions from beginners. Many ideas have come from reading questions and answers on the lists. I want to thank my mother for passing on a writing gene and a good work ethic. Anything I accomplish has its roots in my beginnings. And, of course, thank you to my children who manage to remain close, though far away, and nourish my spirit. And, of course, I want to thank the professionals who made it all possible. Without my agent, my editors, and all the other people at Wiley, this book would not exist. Because they all do their jobs so well, I can contribute my part to this joint project.