Web Development Assignments: PHP Introduction, Assigning Values to Variables, Numbers and String Con

Introduction to Web Development with PHP

This assignment should be started the first day of class. The first step requires a registration process that can take up to 72 hours. This is necessary for subsequent steps that are due the first week of class. Purchase a domain name and web hosting plan that will expire no earlier than 2 weeks after the final course deadline. The selected domain name should be professional and parallel the Liberty Code of Conduct. Each assignment needs to be hosted on your website. The hosting plan must support the version of PHP and MySQL that the required textbook uses. Develop an XHTML, PHP driven website that meets the following requirements:

1. Each page should be W3C compliant, CSS compliant, and use strict XHTML. Each page should have the appropriately linked validation images/icons at the bottom of the page that verify compliance of XHTML and CSS. 

2. Start with the proper XHTML header lines.

3. Develop an appropriate title, description, and meta tags so that search engines can find the page.

4. Define at least 3 custom CSS classes.

5. Write a 2-paragraph report that explains the advantages and disadvantages of the selected web host. Post this on the home page (web page 1)

6. Establish a link to a second page that displays the hosting PHP configuration using PHP info (web page 2)

7. On a third page, print the 2-paragraph report using PHP (web page 3)

8. Create a proper menu that allows navigation between all web pages

9. Proper PHP functions should be used to automatically show the last time each page was modified. The date and file time functions are examples. 

Develop the footer that will be used on the rest of your submissions in this course. The footer should have the appropriate linked validation images/icons at the bottom of the page that verify XHTML and CSS compliance as well as include the proper PHP functions to show the last time the page was modified at the file level. Create a family or friend tree using a PHP script. The tree should date far enough back to include at least 5 family members. If for some reason a family tree is not possible, develop a friend tree or a pet tree. You must use images for those selected, choose accordingly.

Using PHP variables, store the name of each individual, information about them, and a link to a separate page for that person in a PHP script called “variables.php.” The main tree web page should be constructed using XHTML and use the PHP variables.php script to output the name of each family member and the link to his/her web page. The web page of each individual should include a picture and at least 4 unique pieces of information about him/her such as his/her career, favorite books/movies/music, goals, interests, and/or accomplishments. Each of the family members along with each of the family member’s unique information should exist within PHP variables. The contents of the variables should be printed and outputted in a properly formatted web page for each family/friend person.

Create a PHP form that allows input for an individual and displays the information on a subsequent page upon submission. The form should include a drop down field with each family or friend or pet from the tree assignment. The form should also include the fields that match the web pages for each individual in the family or friend tree assignment. For example, fields could have included career, favorite book, and interests from the prior assignment. The form needs to include each of these in addition to a drop down to select the person or pet. Use proper form validation for each form.

Upon submission of the form, the user should be transferred to the appropriate individual’s / pet’s web page based upon the drop down selection. The web page of each friend or family member or pet should now display updated results from the information entered into the form. For example, if a new goal was written in the goals field on the form, it should be appended to the goal’s section of the family or friend’s page. You do not need to store information in a database or file for this assignment. You are simply allowing someone to enter new description information and posting this to a new family/friend/pet page for each member.

In order to prevent unauthorized access to the family or friend tree, develop a login page that fronts these pages and requires a session for their viewing. Allow the username “customer” and password “customer” to successfully login to the website. If the username/password is wrong, the instructor may not be able to grade this and you will received a reduction in points. Create a proper session for the “customer” username upon authentication.

Each page of the family tree should require a session to be set and the user to be authenticated in order to view it. If no session exists, the user should be given a message indicating they are not authenticated and be automatically redirected to the login page. Proper form validation should be used and special characters for the password field that disallow bystanders from seeing the password. In addition, if a session exists the footer of each web page should have a logout link. When the logout link is clicked, the user should be asked to confirm or cancel their logout. Once confirmed, the session should be destroyed.

Create a MySQL or MariaDB database on your web host named your first name and last name. Most web hosts use PHPMyAdmin, a tool used to manage MySQL databases. See your web host’s documentation / support site to determine how to create a MySQL database on your specific web host. You will also need to create a username and password to allow you to access the database from your PHP script using mysqli_connect(). Exclude any spaces; use one word such as “yourfirstnameyourlastname.” Create a table named “comments.” In the “comments” table, create the fields ID, name, title, comments, and comment date. Use the proper field types and allow comments to be over 100 characters.

Comment date should be a timestamp field that is automatically updated with the current timestamp when a new record is inserted into the table. ID should be the primary key and auto increment. Develop a PHP connection script that successfully connects to your database. It should use the MySQL_error() or MySQLi_error() function appropriately to test whether a successful connection exists. Note, some web hosts may be using the new MySQL functions. Thus, you may notice the “I” placed in front of the latter function. You need to determine if your webhost requires new MySQL functions to work. For example, to connect to MySQL you may need to use.