This is a comprehensive guide to PHP, a simple yet powerful language for creating dynamic Web content. It is a detailed reference to the language and its applications, including such topics as form processing, sessions, databases, XML, and graphics and covers PHP 4, the latest version of the language. This book explains PHP language syntax and programming techniques in a clear and concise manner, with numerous examples that illustrate both correct usage and common idioms. The book also includes style tips and practical programming advice that should help you become not just a PHP programmer, but a good PHP programmer. Contents of the book include: information on the basics of the PHP language, including data types, variables, operators, and flow control statements; separate chapters on the fundamental topics of functions, strings, arrays, and objects; coverage of common PHP Web application techniques, such as form processing and validation, session tracking, and cookies; material on interacting with relational databases, such as MySQL and Oracle, using the database-independent PEAR DB library; chapters on generating dynamic images, creating PDF files, and parsing XML files with PHP; and advanced topics, like creating secure script, error handling, performance tuning, and writing your own C language extensions to PHP.