This book is intended for anyone starting out with PHP
programming. If you’ve previously worked in another programming
language such as Java, C#, or Perl, you’ll probably pick up the
concepts in the earlier chapters quickly; however, the book
assumes no prior experience of programming or of building Web
applications. That said, because PHP is primarily a Web
technology, it will help if you have at least some knowledge of
other Web technologies, particularly HTML and CSS. Many Web
applications make use of a database to store data, and this book
contains three chapters on working with MySQL databases. Once
again, if you’re already familiar with databases in general —
and MySQL in particular — you’ll be able to fly through these
chapters. However, even if you’ve never touched a database
before in your life, you should still be able to pick up a
working knowledge by reading through these chapters. What This
Book Covers This book gives you a broad understanding of the PHP
language and its associated technologies.