Master PHP: Comprehensive Curriculum Guide

The PHP curriculum is designed to equip students with the foundational knowledge and practical skills needed to develop dynamic web applications using PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), a widely-used open-source scripting language. This curriculum caters to a variety of learners, from beginners to those seeking advanced proficiency, and emphasizes hands-on experience to ensure a comprehensive understanding of PHP's capabilities. #### Module 1: Introduction to PHP In the initial module, students will be introduced to the basics of PHP, including its history, features, and advantages in web development. Topics covered will include: - **What is PHP?** An overview of PHP as a server-side scripting language, its role in web development, and how it interacts with databases. - **Installation and Setup** Guidance on how to install PHP, configure the development environment using XAMPP or WAMP, and set up a basic web server. - **Syntax and Structure** Understanding PHP syntax, variables, data types, operators, and control structures (if statements, loops, etc.). #### Module 2: Working with Forms This module focuses on how to handle user input through HTML forms. Key topics will include: - **Form Creation** Designing HTML forms and understanding how to capture user input. - **GET and POST Methods** Explaining the differences between GET and POST, and when to use each method for form submission. - **Data Validation and Sanitization** Techniques for validating and sanitizing user input to enhance security and prevent common vulnerabilities like SQL injection. #### Module 3: PHP and MySQL Students will learn how to interact with databases using PHP, focusing on MySQL. Topics include: - **Database Design** Introduction to relational databases, tables, relationships, and normalization. - **Connecting to MySQL** Establishing a connection to a MySQL database using PHP's MySQLi and PDO extensions. - **CRUD Operations** Implementing Create, Read, Update, and Delete operations to manage data in the database. #### Module 4: Advanced PHP Concepts Building on foundational skills, this module introduces more advanced PHP features, such as: - **Sessions and Cookies** Understanding how to manage user sessions and store user preferences using cookies. - **Error Handling** Techniques for error detection and handling, including try-catch blocks and custom error pages. - **Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)** An introduction to OOP concepts in PHP, such as classes, objects, inheritance, and encapsulation. #### Module 5: PHP Frameworks This module explores popular PHP frameworks, which streamline development and enhance productivity. Key frameworks to cover may include: - **Laravel** An overview of Laravel’s architecture, routing, middleware, and blade templating. - **CodeIgniter** Understanding the MVC (Model-View-Controller) structure and how to build applications quickly with CodeIgniter.