Dynamic Web Content with PHP4: A Hands-on Introduction

Michael Schacht Hansen
Section for Health Informatics, University of Aarhus, Denmark

Synopsis: There are several tools available for generating web pages with dynamic content. This is a hands-on introduction to one of the most versatile tools. PHP is available on a variety of platforms (Windows, Macintosh and several Unix flavors including Linux), it is fairly easy to get started and it is free. Participants will have an opportunity to get started with dynamic web-content. Educators who want to know what their programmers are doing can start here. This introduction will cover:

-What is server side scripting?

-How to obtain and install PHP4.

-Basic syntax of the scripting language.

-Connecting to databases.

-Handling cookies etc.

Prerequisites:

No prior programming experience is needed. It is assumed that the participants have prior experience with HTML. Participants should be able to read and understand HTML code.

Who Should Attend:

Anybody who wants an opportunity to get started with dynamic web-content. Educators who want to know what their programmers are doing can start here.

ABSTRACT:

A growing number of web applications are based on access to a database on the web server to provide dynamic content. In the field of health science this is a particular attractive approach when building web based educational materials.

There are several tools available for generating web pages with dynamic content. This is a hands-on introduction to one of the most versatile tools. PHP is available on a variety of platforms (Windows, Macintosh and several Unix flavors including Linux), it is fairly easy to get started and it is free.

This introduction will cover:

• What is server side scripting?

• How to obtain and install PHP4.

• Basic syntax of the scripting language.

• Connecting to the database.

• Handling file uploads.

• Handling cookies

BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:Participants will have an opportunity to get started with dynamic web-content. Educators who want to know what their programmers are doing can start here.

Michael Schacht Hansen
Section for Health Informatics
Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Aarhus
Denmark
Phone: +45 89426123
Email: msh@hi.au.dk