INTRODUCTION Dynamic Web Design (Msn web hosting) Made Easy that s a pretty
INTRODUCTION Dynamic Web Design Made Easy that s a pretty bold claim. How easy is easy? It s not like an instant cake mix: just add water and stir. Dynamic web design is well dynamic. Every website is different, so it s impossible to grab a script, paste it into a web page, and expect it to work. Building dynamic sites involves diving into the code and adjusting it to your own requirements. If that thought makes you break out in a cold sweat, just relax for a moment. PHP is not difficult, and I ve written this book very much with the non- programmer in mind. I ve done so because I don t come from a computing background myself. In fact, I went to school in the days before pocket calculators were invented, never mind personal computers. As a result, I don t assume that you drank in knowledge of arrays, loops, and conditional statements with your mother s milk. Everything is explained in plain, straightforward language, and I ve highlighted points where things may go wrong, with advice on how to solve the problem. At the same time, if you re working with computers and websites, you re bound to have a certain level of technical knowledge and skill. So I don t talk down to you either. Over the years, I ve read a lot of books about PHP and MySQL. The one thing that s missing from all of them is any concept of visual design. So I decided to be different. I picked a handful of the best photographs I took on a visit to Japan in late 2005 and incorporated them into a site called Japan Journey (http://foundationphp.com/phpsolutions/journey/), which features throughout the book. I wanted to show that sites powered by PHP don t have to look boring; in fact, they shouldn t visual appeal is an essential part of any website. All the pages are built in standards-compliant XHTML and styled with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). However, the main focus remains firmly on working with PHP and MySQL, teaching you how to add a wealth of dynamic features to a website. Some of the things you ll learn by working through this book include the following: Displaying random images of different sizes Uploading images and automatically making copies that conform to a maximum size Creating an online photo gallery Building a navigation system to page through a long set of database results
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