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PHP Basics

PHP is a widely-used server-side scripting language ideal for creating dynamic websites, supporting various databases, and compatible with multiple operating systems. It allows embedding code directly into HTML and is easy to learn, making it a popular choice for web development. The document covers basic PHP syntax, file structure, variables, operators, conditional statements, and looping constructs.

Uploaded by

Dhana Sekaran
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© © All Rights Reserved
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24 views56 pages

PHP Basics

PHP is a widely-used server-side scripting language ideal for creating dynamic websites, supporting various databases, and compatible with multiple operating systems. It allows embedding code directly into HTML and is easy to learn, making it a popular choice for web development. The document covers basic PHP syntax, file structure, variables, operators, conditional statements, and looping constructs.

Uploaded by

Dhana Sekaran
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PHP is a powerful server-side scripting language for creating dynamic and interactive

websites.

PHP is the widely-used, free, and efficient alternative to competitors such as Microsoft's
ASP. PHP is perfectly suited for Web development and can be embedded directly into the
HTML code.

The PHP syntax is very similar to Perl and C. PHP is often used together with Apache
(web server) on various operating systems. It also supports ISAPI and can be used with
Microsoft's IIS on Windows.

A PHP file may contain text, HTML tags and scripts. Scripts in a PHP file are executed on
the server.

What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:
 HTML / XHTML
 Some scripting knowledge

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.

What is PHP?

 PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor


 PHP is a server-side scripting language, like ASP
 PHP scripts are executed on the server
 PHP supports many databases (MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic
ODBC, etc.)
 PHP is an open source software (OSS)
 PHP is free to download and use

What is a PHP File?

 PHP files may contain text, HTML tags and scripts


 PHP files are returned to the browser as plain HTML
 PHP files have a file extension of ".php", ".php3", or ".phtml"

What is MySQL?

 MySQL is a database server


 MySQL is ideal for both small and large applications
 MySQL supports standard SQL
 MySQL compiles on a number of platforms
 MySQL is free to download and use

PHP + MySQL

 PHP combined with MySQL are cross-platform (means that you can develop in Windows and
serve on a Unix platform)

Why PHP?

 PHP runs on different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.)


 PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
 PHP is FREE to download from the official PHP resource: www.php.net
 PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side

Where to Start?

 Install an Apache server on a Windows or Linux machine


 Install PHP on a Windows or Linux machine
 Install MySQL on a Windows or Linux machine

What do You Need?


This tutorial will not explain how to install PHP, MySQL, or Apache Server.
If your server supports PHP - you don't need to do anything! You do not need to compile anything or
install any extra tools - just create some .php files in your web directory - and the server will parse
them for you. Most web hosts offer PHP support.
However, if your server does not support PHP, you must install PHP. Below is a link to a good tutorial
from PHP.net on how to install PHP5:

You cannot view the PHP source code by selecting "View source" in the browser - you will
only see the output from the PHP file, which is plain HTML. This is because the scripts
are executed on the server before the result is sent back to the browser.

Basic PHP Syntax

A PHP scripting block always starts with <?php and ends with ?>. A PHP scripting block can be
placed anywhere in the document.
On servers with shorthand support enabled you can start a scripting block with <? and end with ?>.
However, for maximum compatibility, we recommend that you use the
standard form (<?php) rather than the shorthand form.
<?php
?>
A PHP file normally contains HTML tags, just like an HTML file, and some PHP scripting code.
Below, we have an example of a simple PHP script which sends the
text "Hello World" to the browser:
<html>
<body>
<?php
echo "Hello World";
?>
</body>
</html>
Each code line in PHP must end with a semicolon. The semicolon is a separator and is used to
distinguish one set of instructions from another.
There are two basic statements to output text with PHP: echo and print. In the example above we
have used the echo statement to output the text "Hello World".

Comments in PHP

In PHP, we use // to make a single-line comment or /* and */ to make a


large comment block.
<html>
<body>
<?php
//This is a comment
/*
This is
a comment
block
*/
?>
</body>
</html>

Variables are used for storing values, such as numbers, strings or function results, so
that they can be used many times in a script.

Variables in PHP

Variables are used for storing a values, like text strings, numbers or arrays.
When a variable is set it can be used over and over again in your script
All variables in PHP start with a $ sign symbol.
The correct way of setting a variable in PHP:
$var_name = value;
New PHP programmers often forget the $ sign at the beginning of the variable. In that case it will not
work.
Let's try creating a variable with a string, and a variable with a
number:
<?php
$txt = "Hello World!";
$number = 16;
?>

PHP is a Loosely Typed Language

In PHP a variable does not need to be declared before being set.


In the example above, you see that you do not have to tell PHP which data type the variable is.
PHP automatically converts the variable to the correct data type, depending on how they are set.
In a strongly typed programming language, you have to declare (define) the type and name of the
variable before using it.
In PHP the variable is declared automatically when you use it.

Variable Naming Rules

 A variable name must start with a letter or an underscore "_"


 A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores (a-Z, 0-9, and _
)
 A variable name should not contain spaces. If a variable name is more than one word, it
should be separated with underscore ($my_string), or with capitalization ($myString)

A string variable is used to store and manipulate a piece of text.


Strings in PHP

String variables are used for values that contains character strings.
In this tutorial we are going to look at some of the most common functions and operators used to
manipulate strings in PHP.
After we create a string we can manipulate it. A string can be used directly in a function or it can be
stored in a variable.
Below, the PHP script assigns the string "Hello World" to a string
variable called $txt:
<?php
$txt="Hello World";
echo $txt;
?>
The output of the code above will be:
Hello World
Now, lets try to use some different functions and operators to manipulate our string.

The Concatenation Operator

There is only one string operator in PHP.


The concatenation operator (.) is used to put two string values together.
To concatenate two variables together, use the dot (.) operator:
<?php
$txt1="Hello World";
$txt2="1234";
echo $txt1 . " " . $txt2;
?>
The output of the code above will be:
Hello World 1234
If we look at the code above you see that we used the concatenation operator two times. This is
because we had to insert a third string.
Between the two string variables we added a string with a single character, an empty space, to
separate the two variables.

Using the strlen() function

The strlen() function is used to find the length of a string.


Let's find the length of our string "Hello world!":
<?php
echo strlen("Hello world!");
?>
The output of the code above will be:
12
The length of a string is often used in loops or other functions, when it is important to know when
the string ends. (i.e. in a loop, we would want to stop the loop after the last character in the string)

Using the strpos() function

The strpos() function is used to search for a string or character within a string.
If a match is found in the string, this function will return the position of the first match. If no match is
found, it will return FALSE.
Let's see if we can find the string "world" in our string:
<?php
echo strpos("Hello world!","world");
?>
The output of the code above will be:
6
As you see the position of the string "world" in our string is position 6. The reason that it is 6, and
not 7, is that the first position in the string is 0, and not 1.

Complete PHP String Reference

For a complete reference of all string functions, go to our complete PHP String Reference.
The reference contains a brief description and examples of use for each function!

Operators are used to operate on values.

PHP Operators

This section lists the different operators used in PHP.


Arithmetic Operators
Operator Description Example Result
+ Addition x=2 4
x+2
- Subtraction x=2 3
5-x
* Multiplication x=4 20
x*5
/ Division 15/5 3
5/2 2.5
% Modulus (division remainder) 5%2 1
10%8 2
10%2 0
++ Increment x=5 x=6
x++
-- Decrement x=5 x=4
x--
Assignment Operators
Operator Example Is The Same As
= x=y x=y
+= x+=y x=x+y
-= x-=y x=x-y
*= x*=y x=x*y
/= x/=y x=x/y
.= x.=y x=x.y
%= x%=y x=x%y
Comparison Operators
Operator Description Example
== is equal to 5==8 returns false
!= is not equal 5!=8 returns true
> is greater than 5>8 returns false
< is less than 5<8 returns true
>= is greater than or equal to 5>=8 returns false
<= is less than or equal to 5<=8 returns true
Logical Operators
Operator Description Example
&& and x=6
y=3

(x < 10 && y > 1) returns true


|| or x=6
y=3

(x==5 || y==5) returns false


! not x=6
y=3

!(x==y) returns true

The if, elseif and else statements in PHP are used to perform different actions based on
different conditions.

Conditional Statements

Very often when you write code, you want to perform different actions for different decisions.
You can use conditional statements in your code to do this.
 if...else statement - use this statement if you want to execute a set of code when a
condition is true and another if the condition is not true
 elseif statement - is used with the if...else statement to execute a set of code if one of
several condition are true

The If...Else Statement

If you want to execute some code if a condition is true and another code if a condition is false, use
the if....else statement.

Syntax

if (condition)
code to be executed if condition is true;
else
code to be executed if condition is false;

Example
The following example will output "Have a nice weekend!" if the
current day is Friday, otherwise it will output "Have a nice day!":
<html>
<body>
<?php
$d=date("D");
if ($d=="Fri")
echo "Have a nice weekend!";
else
echo "Have a nice day!";
?>
</body>
</html>
If more than one line should be executed if a condition is true/false, the
lines should be enclosed within curly braces:
<html>
<body>
<?php
$d=date("D");
if ($d=="Fri")
{
echo "Hello!<br />";
echo "Have a nice weekend!";
echo "See you on Monday!";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

The ElseIf Statement

If you want to execute some code if one of several conditions are true use the elseif statement

Syntax

if (condition)
code to be executed if condition is true;
elseif (condition)
code to be executed if condition is true;
else
code to be executed if condition is false;

Example

The following example will output "Have a nice weekend!" if the


current day is Friday, and "Have a nice Sunday!" if the current day is
Sunday. Otherwise it will output "Have a nice day!":
<html>
<body>
<?php
$d=date("D");
if ($d=="Fri")
echo "Have a nice weekend!";
elseif ($d=="Sun")
echo "Have a nice Sunday!";
else
echo "Have a nice day!";
?>
</body>
</html>

The Switch statement in PHP is used to perform one of several different actions based on
one of several different conditions.

The Switch Statement

If you want to select one of many blocks of code to be executed, use the Switch statement.
The switch statement is used to avoid long blocks of if..elseif..else code.

Syntax

switch (expression)
{
case label1:
code to be executed if expression = label1;
break;
case label2:
code to be executed if expression = label2;
break;
default:
code to be executed
if expression is different
from both label1 and label2;
}

Example

This is how it works:


 A single expression (most often a variable) is evaluated once
 The value of the expression is compared with the values for each case in the structure
 If there is a match, the code associated with that case is executed
 After a code is executed, break is used to stop the code from running into the next case
 The default statement is used if none of the cases are true

<html>
<body>
<?php
switch ($x)
{
case 1:
echo "Number 1";
break;
case 2:
echo "Number 2";
break;
case 3:
echo "Number 3";
break;
default:
echo "No number between 1 and 3";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

The Switch statement in PHP is used to perform one of several different actions based on
one of several different conditions.

The Switch Statement

If you want to select one of many blocks of code to be executed, use the Switch statement.
The switch statement is used to avoid long blocks of if..elseif..else code.

Syntax

switch (expression)
{
case label1:
code to be executed if expression = label1;
break;
case label2:
code to be executed if expression = label2;
break;
default:
code to be executed
if expression is different
from both label1 and label2;
}

Example

This is how it works:


 A single expression (most often a variable) is evaluated once
 The value of the expression is compared with the values for each case in the structure
 If there is a match, the code associated with that case is executed
 After a code is executed, break is used to stop the code from running into the next case
 The default statement is used if none of the cases are true

<html>
<body>
<?php
switch ($x)
{
case 1:
echo "Number 1";
break;
case 2:
echo "Number 2";
break;
case 3:
echo "Number 3";
break;
default:
echo "No number between 1 and 3";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

Looping statements in PHP are used to execute the same block of code a specified
number of times.

Looping

Very often when you write code, you want the same block of code to run a number of times. You can
use looping statements in your code to perform this.
In PHP we have the following looping statements:
 while - loops through a block of code if and as long as a specified condition is true
 do...while - loops through a block of code once, and then repeats the loop as long as a
special condition is true
 for - loops through a block of code a specified number of times
 foreach - loops through a block of code for each element in an array

The while Statement

The while statement will execute a block of code if and as long as a condition is true.

Syntax

while (condition)
code to be executed;

Example

The following example demonstrates a loop that will continue to run as


long as the variable i is less than, or equal to 5. i will increase by 1
each time the loop runs:
<html>
<body>
<?php
$i=1;
while($i<=5)
{
echo "The number is " . $i . "<br />";
$i++;
}
?>
</body>
</html>

The do...while Statement

The do...while statement will execute a block of code at least once - it then will repeat the loop as
long as a condition is true.

Syntax

do
{
code to be executed;
}
while (condition);

Example

The following example will increment the value of i at least once, and it
will continue incrementing the variable i as long as it has a value of
less than 5:
<html>
<body>
<?php
$i=0;
do
{
$i++;
echo "The number is " . $i . "<br />";
}
while ($i<5);
?>
</body>
</html>

The for Statement

The for statement is used when you know how many times you want to execute a statement or a list
of statements.

Syntax

for (initialization; condition; increment)


{
code to be executed;
}
Note: The for statement has three parameters. The first parameter initializes variables, the second
parameter holds the condition, and the third parameter contains the increments required to
implement the loop. If more than one variable is included in the initialization or the increment
parameter, they should be separated by commas. The condition must evaluate to true or false.

Example

The following example prints the text "Hello World!" five times:
<html>
<body>
<?php
for ($i=1; $i<=5; $i++)
{
echo "Hello World!<br />";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

The foreach Statement

The foreach statement is used to loop through arrays.


For every loop, the value of the current array element is assigned to $value (and the array pointer is
moved by one) - so on the next loop, you'll be looking at the next element.

Syntax

foreach (array as value)


{
code to be executed;
}

Example

The following example demonstrates a loop that will print the values of
the given array:
<html>
<body>
<?php
$arr=array("one", "two", "three");
foreach ($arr as $value)
{
echo "Value: " . $value . "<br />";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

The real power of PHP comes from its functions.

In PHP - there are more than 700 built-in functions available.


PHP Functions

In this tutorial we will show you how to create your own functions.
For a reference and examples of the built-in functions, please visit our PHP Reference.

Create a PHP Function

A function is a block of code that can be executed whenever we need it.

Creating PHP functions:


 All functions start with the word "function()"
 Name the function - It should be possible to understand what the function does by its name.
The name can start with a letter or underscore (not a number)
 Add a "{" - The function code starts after the opening curly brace
 Insert the function code
 Add a "}" - The function is finished by a closing curly brace

Example

A simple function that writes my name when it is called:


<html>
<body>
<?php
function writeMyName()
{
echo "Kai Jim Refsnes";
}
writeMyName();
?>
</body>
</html>

Use a PHP Function

Now we will use the function in a PHP script:


<html>
<body>
<?php
function writeMyName()
{
echo "Kai Jim Refsnes";
}
echo "Hello world!<br />";
echo "My name is ";
writeMyName();
echo ".<br />That's right, ";
writeMyName();
echo " is my name.";
?>
</body>
</html>
The output of the code above will be:
Hello world!
My name is Kai Jim Refsnes.
That's right, Kai Jim Refsnes is my name.

PHP Functions - Adding parameters

Our first function (writeMyName()) is a very simple function. It only writes a static string.
To add more functionality to a function, we can add parameters. A parameter is just like a variable.
You may have noticed the parentheses after the function name, like: writeMyName(). The
parameters are specified inside the parentheses.

Example 1

The following example will write different first names, but the same
last name:
<html>
<body>
<?php
function writeMyName($fname)
{
echo $fname . " Refsnes.<br />";
}
echo "My name is ";
writeMyName("Kai Jim");
echo "My name is ";
writeMyName("Hege");
echo "My name is ";
writeMyName("Stale");
?>
</body>
</html>
The output of the code above will be:
My name is Kai Jim Refsnes.
My name is Hege Refsnes.
My name is Stale Refsnes.

Example 2

The following function has two parameters:


<html>
<body>
<?php
function writeMyName($fname,$punctuation)
{
echo $fname . " Refsnes" . $punctuation . "<br />";
}
echo "My name is ";
writeMyName("Kai Jim",".");
echo "My name is ";
writeMyName("Hege","!");
echo "My name is ";
writeMyName("Ståle","...");
?>
</body>
</html>
The output of the code above will be:
My name is Kai Jim Refsnes.
My name is Hege Refsnes!
My name is Ståle Refsnes...

PHP Functions - Return values

Functions can also be used to return values.

Example

<html>
<body>
<?php
function add($x,$y)
{
$total = $x + $y;
return $total;
}
echo "1 + 16 = " . add(1,16);
?>
</body>
</html>
The output of the code above will be:
1 + 16 = 17

The PHP $_GET and $_POST variables are used to retrieve information from forms, like
user input.

PHP Form Handling

The most important thing to notice when dealing with HTML forms and PHP is that any form element
in an HTML page will automatically be available to your PHP scripts.
Form example:
<html>
<body>
<form action="welcome.php" method="post">
Name: <input type="text" name="name" />
Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>
</body>
</html>
The example HTML page above contains two input fields and a submit button. When the user fills in
this form and click on the submit button, the form data is sent to the "welcome.php" file.
The "welcome.php" file looks like this:
<html>
<body>
Welcome <?php echo $_POST["name"]; ?>.<br />
You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old.
</body>
</html>
A sample output of the above script may be:
Welcome John.
You are 28 years old.
The PHP $_GET and $_POST variables will be explained in the next chapters.

Form Validation

User input should be validated whenever possible. Client side validation is faster, and will reduce
server load.
However, any site that gets enough traffic to worry about server resources, may also need to worry
about site security. You should always use server side validation if the form accesses a database.
A good way to validate a form on the server is to post the form to itself, instead of jumping to a
different page. The user will then get the error messages on the same page as the form. This makes
it easier to discover the error.

The $_GET variable is used to collect values from a form with method="get".

The $_GET Variable

The $_GET variable is an array of variable names and values sent by the HTTP GET method.
The $_GET variable is used to collect values from a form with method="get". Information sent from a
form with the GET method is visible to everyone (it will be displayed in the browser's address bar)
and it has limits on the amount of information to send (max. 100 characters).

Example

<form action="welcome.php" method="get">


Name: <input type="text" name="name" />
Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>
When the user clicks the "Submit" button, the URL sent could look
something like this:
http://www.w3schools.com/welcome.php?name=Peter&age=37
The "welcome.php" file can now use the $_GET variable to catch the
form data (notice that the names of the form fields will automatically
be the ID keys in the $_GET array):
Welcome <?php echo $_GET["name"]; ?>.<br />
You are <?php echo $_GET["age"]; ?> years old!

Why use $_GET?

Note: When using the $_GET variable all variable names and values are displayed in the URL. So
this method should not be used when sending passwords or other sensitive information! However,
because the variables are displayed in the URL, it is possible to bookmark the page. This can be
useful in some cases.
Note: The HTTP GET method is not suitable on large variable values; the value cannot exceed 100
characters.

The $_REQUEST Variable

The PHP $_REQUEST variable contains the contents of both $_GET, $_POST, and $_COOKIE.
The PHP $_REQUEST variable can be used to get the result from form data sent with both the GET
and POST methods.

Example

Welcome <?php echo $_REQUEST["name"]; ?>.<br />


You are <?php echo $_REQUEST["age"]; ?> years old!

The $_POST variable is used to collect values from a form with method="post".

The $_POST Variable

The $_POST variable is an array of variable names and values sent by the HTTP POST method.
The $_POST variable is used to collect values from a form with method="post". Information sent
from a form with the POST method is invisible to others and has no limits on the amount of
information to send.

Example

<form action="welcome.php" method="post">


Enter your name: <input type="text" name="name" />
Enter your age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>
When the user clicks the "Submit" button, the URL will not contain any
form data, and will look something like this:
http://www.w3schools.com/welcome.php
The "welcome.php" file can now use the $_POST variable to catch the
form data (notice that the names of the form fields will automatically
be the ID keys in the $_POST array):
Welcome <?php echo $_POST["name"]; ?>.<br />
You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old!

Why use $_POST?

 Variables sent with HTTP POST are not shown in the URL
 Variables have no length limit

However, because the variables are not displayed in the URL, it is not possible to bookmark the
page.
The $_REQUEST Variable

The PHP $_REQUEST variable contains the contents of both $_GET, $_POST, and $_COOKIE.
The PHP $_REQUEST variable can be used to get the result from form data sent with both the GET
and POST methods.

Example

Welcome <?php echo $_REQUEST["name"]; ?>.<br />


You are <?php echo $_REQUEST["age"]; ?> years old!

Php Advanced

The PHP Date() Function

The PHP date() function formats a timestamp to a more readable date and time.

Syntax
date(format,timestamp)

Parameter Description
format Required. Specifies the format of the timestamp
timestamp Optional. Specifies a timestamp. Default is the current date and time (as a
timestamp)

PHP Date - What is a Timestamp?

A timestamp is the number of seconds since January 1, 1970 at 00:00:00 GMT. This is also known as
the Unix Timestamp.

PHP Date - Format the Date

The first parameter in the date() function specifies how to format the date/time. It uses letters to
represent date and time formats. Here are some of the letters that can be used:

 d - The day of the month (01-31)


 m - The current month, as a number (01-12)
 Y - The current year in four digits

An overview of all the letters that can be used in the format parameter, can be found in our PHP
Date reference.
Other characters, like"/", ".", or "-" can also be inserted between the
letters to add additional formatting:

<?php
echo date("Y/m/d");
echo "<br />";
echo date("Y.m.d");
echo "<br />";
echo date("Y-m-d");
?>

The output of the code above could be something like this:

2006/07/11
2006.07.11
2006-07-11

PHP Date - Adding a Timestamp

The second parameter in the date() function specifies a timestamp. This parameter is optional. If you
do not supply a timestamp, the current time will be used.

In our next example we will use the mktime() function to create a timestamp for tomorrow.

The mktime() function returns the Unix timestamp for a specified date.

Syntax
mktime(hour,minute,second,month,day,year,is_dst)

To go one day in the future we simply add one to the day argument of
mktime():

<?php
$tomorrow = mktime(0,0,0,date("m"),date("d")+1,date("Y"));
echo "Tomorrow is ".date("Y/m/d", $tomorrow);
?>

The output of the code above could be something like this:

Tomorrow is 2006/07/12

PHP Include File


Server Side Includes (SSI) are used to create functions, headers, footers, or elements
that will be reused on multiple pages.

Server Side Includes

You can insert the content of a file into a PHP file before the server executes it, with the include() or
require() function. The two functions are identical in every way, except how they handle errors. The
include() function generates a warning (but the script will continue execution) while the require()
function generates a fatal error (and the script execution will stop after the error).

These two functions are used to create functions, headers, footers, or elements that can be reused
on multiple pages.

This can save the developer a considerable amount of time. This means that you can create a
standard header or menu file that you want all your web pages to include. When the header needs
to be updated, you can only update this one include file, or when you add a new page to your site,
you can simply change the menu file (instead of updating the links on all web pages).

The include() Function

The include() function takes all the text in a specified file and copies it into the file that uses the
include function.

Example 1

Assume that you have a standard header file, called "header.php". To


include the header file in a page, use the include() function, like this:

<html>
<body>
<?php include("header.php"); ?>
<h1>Welcome to my home page</h1>
<p>Some text</p>
</body>
</html>

Example 2

Now, let's assume we have a standard menu file that should be used
on all pages (include files usually have a ".php" extension). Look at the
"menu.php" file below:

<html>
<body>
<a href="http://www.w3schools.com/default.php">Home</a> |
<a href="http://www.w3schools.com/about.php">About Us</a> |
<a href="http://www.w3schools.com/contact.php">Contact Us</a>
The three files, "default.php", "about.php", and "contact.php" should
all include the "menu.php" file. Here is the code in "default.php":

<?php include("menu.php"); ?>


<h1>Welcome to my home page</h1>
<p>Some text</p>
</body>
</html>

If you look at the source code of the "default.php" in a browser, it will


look something like this:

<html>
<body>
<a href="default.php">Home</a> |
<a href="about.php">About Us</a> |
<a href="contact.php">Contact Us</a>
<h1>Welcome to my home page</h1>
<p>Some text</p>
</body>
</html>

And, of course, we would have to do the same thing for "about.php" and "contact.php". By using
include files, you simply have to update the text in the "menu.php" file if you decide to rename or
change the order of the links or add another web page to the site.

The require() Function

The require() function is identical to include(), except that it handles errors differently.

The include() function generates a warning (but the script will continue execution) while the
require() function generates a fatal error (and the script execution will stop after the error).

If you include a file with the include() function and an error occurs, you might get an error message
like the one below.

PHP code:

<html>
<body>

<?php
include("wrongFile.php");
echo "Hello World!";
?>

</body>
</html>

Error message:

Warning: include(wrongFile.php) [function.include]:


failed to open stream:
No such file or directory in C:\home\website\test.php on line 5
Warning: include() [function.include]:
Failed opening 'wrongFile.php' for inclusion
(include_path='.;C:\php5\pear')
in C:\home\website\test.php on line 5
Hello World!

Notice that the echo statement is still executed! This is because a Warning does not stop the script
execution.

Now, let's run the same example with the require() function.

PHP code:

<html>
<body>

<?php
require("wrongFile.php");
echo "Hello World!";
?>

</body>
</html>

Error message:

Warning: require(wrongFile.php) [function.require]:


failed to open stream:
No such file or directory in C:\home\website\test.php on line 5
Fatal error: require() [function.require]:
Failed opening required 'wrongFile.php'
(include_path='.;C:\php5\pear')
in C:\home\website\test.php on line 5

The echo statement was not executed because the script execution stopped after the fatal error.

It is recommended to use the require() function instead of include(), because scripts should not
continue executing if files are missing or misnamed.

PHP File Handling

The fopen() function is used to open files in PHP.

Opening a File

The fopen() function is used to open files in PHP.


The first parameter of this function contains the name of the file to be
opened and the second parameter specifies in which mode the file
should be opened:

<html>
<body>
<?php
$file=fopen("welcome.txt","r");
?>
</body>
</html>

The file may be opened in one of the following modes:

Modes Description
r Read only. Starts at the beginning of the file
r+ Read/Write. Starts at the beginning of the file
w Write only. Opens and clears the contents of file; or creates a new file if it
doesn't exist
w+ Read/Write. Opens and clears the contents of file; or creates a new file if it
doesn't exist
a Append. Opens and writes to the end of the file or creates a new file if it doesn't
exist
a+ Read/Append. Preserves file content by writing to the end of the file
x Write only. Creates a new file. Returns FALSE and an error if file already exists
x+ Read/Write. Creates a new file. Returns FALSE and an error if file already exists

Note: If the fopen() function is unable to open the specified file, it returns 0 (false).

Example

The following example generates a message if the fopen() function is


unable to open the specified file:

<html>
<body>
<?php
$file=fopen("welcome.txt","r") or exit("Unable to open file!");
?>
</body>
</html>

Closing a File

The fclose() function is used to close an open file:

<?php
$file = fopen("test.txt","r");
//some code to be executed
fclose($file);
?>
Check End-of-file

The feof() function checks if the "end-of-file" (EOF) has been reached.

The feof() function is useful for looping through data of unknown length.

Note: You cannot read from files opened in w, a, and x mode!

if (feof($file)) echo "End of file";

Reading a File Line by Line

The fgets() function is used to read a single line from a file.

Note: After a call to this function the file pointer has moved to the next line.

Example

The example below reads a file line by line, until the end of file is
reached:

<?php
$file = fopen("welcome.txt", "r") or exit("Unable to open file!");
//Output a line of the file until the end is reached
while(!feof($file))
{
echo fgets($file). "<br />";
}
fclose($file);
?>

Reading a File Character by Character

The fgetc() function is used to read a single character from a file.

Note: After a call to this function the file pointer moves to the next character.

Example

The example below reads a file character by character, until the end of
file is reached:

<?php
$file=fopen("welcome.txt","r") or exit("Unable to open file!");
while (!feof($file))
{
echo fgetc($file);
}
fclose($file);
?>

PHP Filesystem Reference

For a full reference of the PHP filesystem functions, visit our PHP Filesystem Reference.

PHP File Upload

With PHP, it is possible to upload files to the server.

Create an Upload-File Form

To allow users to upload files from a form can be very useful.

Look at the following HTML form for uploading files:

<html>
<body>
<form action="upload_file.php" method="post"
enctype="multipart/form-data">
<label for="file">Filename:</label>
<input type="file" name="file" id="file" />
<br />
<input type="submit" name="submit" value="Submit" />
</form>
</body>
</html>

Notice the following about the HTML form above:

 The enctype attribute of the <form> tag specifies which content-type to use when
submitting the form. "multipart/form-data" is used when a form requires binary data, like
the contents of a file, to be uploaded
 The type="file" attribute of the <input> tag specifies that the input should be processed as
a file. For example, when viewed in a browser, there will be a browse-button next to the
input field

Note: Allowing users to upload files is a big security risk. Only permit trusted users to perform file
uploads.
Create The Upload

PHP Cookies

A cookie is often used to identify a user.

What is a Cookie?

A cookie is often used to identify a user. A cookie is a small file that the server embeds on the user's
computer. Each time the same computer requests a page with a browser, it will send the cookie too.
With PHP, you can both create and retrieve cookie values.

How to Create a Cookie?

The setcookie() function is used to set a cookie.

Note: The setcookie() function must appear BEFORE the <html> tag.

Syntax
setcookie(name, value, expire, path, domain);

Example

In the example below, we will create a cookie named "user" and assign
the value "Alex Porter" to it. We also specify that the cookie should
expire after one hour:

<?php
setcookie("user", "Alex Porter", time()+3600);
?>
<html>
<body>
</body>
</html>

Note: The value of the cookie is automatically URLencoded when sending the cookie, and
automatically decoded when received (to prevent URLencoding, use setrawcookie() instead).

How to Retrieve a Cookie Value?

The PHP $_COOKIE variable is used to retrieve a cookie value.


In the example below, we retrieve the value of the cookie named
"user" and display it on a page:

<?php
// Print a cookie
echo $_COOKIE["user"];
// A way to view all cookies
print_r($_COOKIE);
?>

In the following example we use the isset() function to find out if a


cookie has been set:

<html>
<body>
<?php
if (isset($_COOKIE["user"]))
echo "Welcome " . $_COOKIE["user"] . "!<br />";
else
echo "Welcome guest!<br />";
?>
</body>
</html>

How to Delete a Cookie?

When deleting a cookie you should assure that the expiration date is in the past.

Delete example:

<?php
// set the expiration date to one hour ago
setcookie("user", "", time()-3600);
?>

What if a Browser Does NOT Support Cookies?

If your application deals with browsers that do not support cookies, you will have to use other
methods to pass information from one page to another in your application. One method is to pass
the data through forms (forms and user input are described earlier in this tutorial).

The form below passes the user input to "welcome.php" when the user
clicks on the "Submit" button:

<html>
<body>
<form action="welcome.php" method="post">
Name: <input type="text" name="name" />
Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
<input type="submit" />
</form>
</body>
</html>

Retrieve the values in the "welcome.php" file like this:

<html>
<body>
Welcome <?php echo $_POST["name"]; ?>.<br />
You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old.
</body>
</html>

PHP Sessions

A PHP session variable is used to store information about, or change settings for a user
session. Session variables hold information about one single user, and are available to
all pages in one application.

PHP Session Variables

When you are working with an application, you open it, do some changes and then you close it. This
is much like a Session. The computer knows who you are. It knows when you start the application
and when you end. But on the internet there is one problem: the web server does not know who you
are and what you do because the HTTP address doesn't maintain state.

A PHP session solves this problem by allowing you to store user information on the server for later
use (i.e. username, shopping items, etc). However, session information is temporary and will be
deleted after the user has left the website. If you need a permanent storage you may want to store
the data in a database.

Sessions work by creating a unique id (UID) for each visitor and store variables based on this UID.
The UID is either stored in a cookie or is propagated in the URL.

Starting a PHP Session

Before you can store user information in your PHP session, you must first start up the session.

Note: The session_start() function must appear BEFORE the <html> tag:

<?php session_start(); ?>


<html>
<body>
</body>
</html>

The code above will register the user's session with the server, allow you to start saving user
information, and assign a UID for that user's session.

Storing a Session Variable

The correct way to store and retrieve session variables is to use the
PHP $_SESSION variable:

<?php
session_start();
// store session data
$_SESSION['views']=1;
?>
<html>
<body>
<?php
//retrieve session data
echo "Pageviews=". $_SESSION['views'];
?>
</body>
</html>

Output:

Pageviews=1

In the example below, we create a simple page-views counter. The


isset() function checks if the "views" variable has already been set. If
"views" has been set, we can increment our counter. If "views" doesn't
exist, we create a "views" variable, and set it to 1:

<?php

session_start();
if(isset($_SESSION['views']))
$_SESSION['views']=$_SESSION['views']+1;

else
$_SESSION['views']=1;
echo "Views=". $_SESSION['views'];
?>

Destroying a Session

If you wish to delete some session data, you can use the unset() or the session_destroy() function.

The unset() function is used to free the specified session variable:


<?php
unset($_SESSION['views']);
?>

You can also completely destroy the session by calling the


session_destroy() function:

<?php
session_destroy();
?>

Note: session_destroy() will reset your session and you will lose all your stored session data.

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HOME PHP Sending E-mails


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subject Required. Specifies the subject of the email. Note: This parameter
W3Schools Forum cannot contain any newline characters
message Required. Defines the message to be sent. Each line should be
Helping W3Schools separated with a LF (\n). Lines should not exceed 70 characters
headers Optional. Specifies additional headers, like From, Cc, and Bcc. The
additional headers should be separated with a CRLF (\r\n)
parameters Optional. Specifies an additional parameter to the sendmail program

Note: For the mail functions to be available, PHP requires an installed and working
email system. The program to be used is defined by the configuration settings in the
php.ini file. Read more in our PHP Mail reference.

PHP Simple E-Mail

The simplest way to send an email with PHP is to send a text email.

In the example below we first declare the variables ($to,


$subject, $message, $from, $headers), then we use the
variables in the mail() function to send an e-mail:

<?php
$to = "someone@example.com";
$subject = "Test mail";
$message = "Hello! This is a simple email message.";
$from = "someonelse@example.com";
$headers = "From: $from";
mail($to,$subject,$message,$headers);
echo "Mail Sent.";
?>

PHP Mail Form

With PHP, you can create a feedback-form on your website.


The example below sends a text message to a specified e-
mail address:

<html>
<body>
<?php
if (isset($_REQUEST['email']))
//if "email" is filled out, send email
{
//send email
$email = $_REQUEST['email'] ;
$subject = $_REQUEST['subject'] ;
$message = $_REQUEST['message'] ;
mail( "someone@example.com", "Subject: $subject",
$message, "From: $email" );
echo "Thank you for using our mail form";
}
else
//if "email" is not filled out, display the form
{
echo "<form method='post' action='mailform.php'>
Email: <input name='email' type='text' /><br />
Subject: <input name='subject' type='text' /><br />
Message:<br />
<textarea name='message' rows='15' cols='40'>
</textarea><br />
<input type='submit' />
</form>";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

This is how the example above works:


 First, check if the email input field is filled out
 If it is not set (like when the page is first visited); output the HTML form
 If it is set (after the form is filled out); send the email from the form
 When submit is pressed after the form is filled out, the page reloads, sees that
the email input is set, and sends the email

Note: This is the simplest way to send e-mail, but it is not secure. In the next chapter
of this tutorial you can read more about vulnerabilities in e-mail scripts, and how to
validate user input to make it more secure.

PHP Mail Reference

For more information about the PHP mail() function, visit our PHP Mail Reference.

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PHP Sending E-mails


PHP allows you to send e-mails directly from a script.

The PHP mail() Function

The PHP mail() function is used to send emails from inside a script.

Syntax

mail(to,subject,message,headers,parameters)

Parameter Description
to Required. Specifies the receiver / receivers of the email
subject Required. Specifies the subject of the email. Note: This parameter cannot
contain any newline characters
message Required. Defines the message to be sent. Each line should be separated with a
LF (\n). Lines should not exceed 70 characters
headers Optional. Specifies additional headers, like From, Cc, and Bcc. The additional
headers should be separated with a CRLF (\r\n)
parameters Optional. Specifies an additional parameter to the sendmail program

Note: For the mail functions to be available, PHP requires an installed and working email system.
The program to be used is defined by the configuration settings in the php.ini file. Read more in our
PHP Mail reference.

PHP Simple E-Mail

The simplest way to send an email with PHP is to send a text email.

In the example below we first declare the variables ($to, $subject,


$message, $from, $headers), then we use the variables in the mail()
function to send an e-mail:

<?php
$to = "someone@example.com";
$subject = "Test mail";
$message = "Hello! This is a simple email message.";
$from = "someonelse@example.com";
$headers = "From: $from";
mail($to,$subject,$message,$headers);
echo "Mail Sent.";
?>

PHP Mail Form


With PHP, you can create a feedback-form on your website. The
example below sends a text message to a specified e-mail address:

<html>
<body>
<?php
if (isset($_REQUEST['email']))
//if "email" is filled out, send email
{
//send email
$email = $_REQUEST['email'] ;
$subject = $_REQUEST['subject'] ;
$message = $_REQUEST['message'] ;
mail( "someone@example.com", "Subject: $subject",
$message, "From: $email" );
echo "Thank you for using our mail form";
}
else
//if "email" is not filled out, display the form
{
echo "<form method='post' action='mailform.php'>
Email: <input name='email' type='text' /><br />
Subject: <input name='subject' type='text' /><br />
Message:<br />
<textarea name='message' rows='15' cols='40'>
</textarea><br />
<input type='submit' />
</form>";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

This is how the example above works:


 First, check if the email input field is filled out
 If it is not set (like when the page is first visited); output the HTML form
 If it is set (after the form is filled out); send the email from the form
 When submit is pressed after the form is filled out, the page reloads, sees that the email
input is set, and sends the email

Note: This is the simplest way to send e-mail, but it is not secure. In the next chapter of this tutorial
you can read more about vulnerabilities in e-mail scripts, and how to validate user input to make it
more secure.

PHP Secure E-mails

There is a weakness in the PHP e-mail script in the previous chapter.

PHP E-mail Injections


First, look at the PHP code from the previous chapter:

<html>
<body>
<?php
if (isset($_REQUEST['email']))
//if "email" is filled out, send email
{
//send email
$email = $_REQUEST['email'] ;
$subject = $_REQUEST['subject'] ;
$message = $_REQUEST['message'] ;
mail("someone@example.com", "Subject: $subject",
$message, "From: $email" );
echo "Thank you for using our mail form";
}
else
//if "email" is not filled out, display the form
{
echo "<form method='post' action='mailform.php'>
Email: <input name='email' type='text' /><br />
Subject: <input name='subject' type='text' /><br />
Message:<br />
<textarea name='message' rows='15' cols='40'>
</textarea><br />
<input type='submit' />
</form>";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

The problem with the code above is that unauthorized users can insert data into the mail headers
via the input form.

What happens if the user adds the following text to the email input
field in the form?

someone@example.com%0ACc:person2@example.com
%0ABcc:person3@example.com,person3@example.com,
anotherperson4@example.com,person5@example.com
%0ABTo:person6@example.com

The mail() function puts the text above into the mail headers as usual, and now the header has an
extra Cc:, Bcc:, and To: field. When the user clicks the submit button, the e-mail will be sent to all of
the addresses above!

PHP Stopping E-mail Injections

The best way to stop e-mail injections is to validate the input.

The code below is the same as in the previous chapter, but now we
have added an input validator that checks the email field in the form:
<html>
<body>
<?php
function spamcheck($field)
{
//filter_var() sanitizes the e-mail
//address using FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL
$field=filter_var($field, FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL);

//filter_var() validates the e-mail


//address using FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL
if(filter_var($field, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL))
{
return TRUE;
}
else
{
return FALSE;
}
}
if (isset($_REQUEST['email']))
{//if "email" is filled out, proceed
//check if the email address is invalid
$mailcheck = spamcheck($_REQUEST['email']);
if ($mailcheck==FALSE)
{
echo "Invalid input";
}
else
{//send email
$email = $_REQUEST['email'] ;
$subject = $_REQUEST['subject'] ;
$message = $_REQUEST['message'] ;
mail("someone@example.com", "Subject: $subject",
$message, "From: $email" );
echo "Thank you for using our mail form";
}
}
else
{//if "email" is not filled out, display the form
echo "<form method='post' action='mailform.php'>
Email: <input name='email' type='text' /><br />
Subject: <input name='subject' type='text' /><br />
Message:<br />
<textarea name='message' rows='15' cols='40'>
</textarea><br />
<input type='submit' />
</form>";
}
?>
</body>
</html>

In the code above we use PHP filters to validate input:

 The FILTER_SANITIZE_EMAIL filter removes all illegal e-mail characters from a string
 The FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL filter validates value as an e-mail address

You can read more about filters in our PHP Filter chapter.
PHP Error Handling

The default error handling in PHP is very simple. An error message with filename, line
number and a message describing the error is sent to the browser.

PHP Error Handling

When creating scripts and web applications, error handling is an important part. If your code lacks
error checking code, your program may look very unprofessional and you may be open to security
risks.

This tutorial contains some of the most common error checking methods in PHP.

We will show different error handling methods:

 Simple "die()" statements


 Custom errors and error triggers
 Error reporting

Basic Error Handling: Using the die() function

The first example shows a simple script that opens a text file:

<?php
$file=fopen("welcome.txt","r");
?>

If the file does not exist you might get an error like this:

Warning: fopen(welcome.txt) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream:


No such file or directory in C:\webfolder\test.php on line 2

To avoid that the user gets an error message like the one above, we
test if the file exist before we try to access it:

<?php
if(!file_exists("welcome.txt"))
{
die("File not found");
}
else
{
$file=fopen("welcome.txt","r");
}
?>

Now if the file does not exist you get an error like this:

File not found

The code above is more efficient than the earlier code, because it uses a simple error handling
mechanism to stop the script after the error.

However, simply stopping the script is not always the right way to go. Let's take a look at alternative
PHP functions for handling errors.

Creating a Custom Error Handler

Creating a custom error handler is quite simple. We simply create a special function that can be
called when an error occurs in PHP.

This function must be able to handle a minimum of two parameters (error level and error message)
but can accept up to five parameters (optionally: file, line-number, and the error context):

Syntax
error_function(error_level,error_message,
error_file,error_line,error_context)

Parameter Description
error_level Required. Specifies the error report level for the user-defined error. Must be a
value number. See table below for possible error report levels
error_message Required. Specifies the error message for the user-defined error
error_file Optional. Specifies the filename in which the error occurred
error_line Optional. Specifies the line number in which the error occurred
error_context Optional. Specifies an array containing every variable, and their values, in use
when the error occurred

Error Report levels

These error report levels are the different types of error the user-
defined error handler can be used for:

Value Constant Description


2 E_WARNING Non-fatal run-time errors. Execution of the script is not halted
8 E_NOTICE Run-time notices. The script found something that might be an
error, but could also happen when running a script normally
256 E_USER_ERROR Fatal user-generated error. This is like an E_ERROR set by the
programmer using the PHP function trigger_error()
512 E_USER_WARNING Non-fatal user-generated warning. This is like an E_WARNING set
by the programmer using the PHP function trigger_error()
1024 E_USER_NOTICE User-generated notice. This is like an E_NOTICE set by the
programmer using the PHP function trigger_error()
4096 E_RECOVERABLE_ERROR Catchable fatal error. This is like an E_ERROR but can be caught
by a user defined handle (see also set_error_handler())
8191 E_ALL All errors and warnings, except level E_STRICT (E_STRICT will be
part of E_ALL as of PHP 6.0)

Now lets create a function to handle errors:

function customError($errno, $errstr)


{
echo "<b>Error:</b> [$errno] $errstr<br />";
echo "Ending Script";
die();
}

The code above is a simple error handling function. When it is triggered, it gets the error level and
an error message. It then outputs the error level and message and terminates the script.

Now that we have created an error handling function we need to decide when it should be triggered.

Set Error Handler

The default error handler for PHP is the built in error handler. We are going to make the function
above the default error handler for the duration of the script.

It is possible to change the error handler to apply for only some errors,
that way the script can handle different errors in different ways.
However, in this example we are going to use our custom error handler
for all errors:

set_error_handler("customError");

Since we want our custom function to handle all errors, the set_error_handler() only needed one
parameter, a second parameter could be added to specify an error level.

Example

Testing the error handler by trying to output variable that does not
exist:

<?php
//error handler function
function customError($errno, $errstr)
{
echo "<b>Error:</b> [$errno] $errstr";
}
//set error handler
set_error_handler("customError");
//trigger error
echo($test);
?>
The output of the code above should be something like this:

Custom error: [8] Undefined variable: test

Trigger an Error

In a script where users can input data it is useful to trigger errors when an illegal input occurs. In
PHP, this is done by the trigger_error() function.

Example

In this example an error occurs if the "test" variable is bigger than "1":

<?php
$test=2;
if ($test>1)
{
trigger_error("Value must be 1 or below");
}
?>

The output of the code above should be something like this:

Notice: Value must be 1 or below


in C:\webfolder\test.php on line 6

An error can be triggered anywhere you wish in a script, and by adding a second parameter, you can
specify what error level is triggered.

Possible error types:

 E_USER_ERROR - Fatal user-generated run-time error. Errors that can not be recovered
from. Execution of the script is halted
 E_USER_WARNING - Non-fatal user-generated run-time warning. Execution of the script is
not halted
 E_USER_NOTICE - Default. User-generated run-time notice. The script found something that
might be an error, but could also happen when running a script normally

Example

In this example an E_USER_WARNING occurs if the "test" variable is


bigger than "1". If an E_USER_WARNING occurs we will use our custom
error handler and end the script:

<?php
//error handler function
function customError($errno, $errstr)
{
echo "<b>Error:</b> [$errno] $errstr<br />";
echo "Ending Script";
die();
}
//set error handler
set_error_handler("customError",E_USER_WARNING);
//trigger error
$test=2;
if ($test>1)
{
trigger_error("Value must be 1 or below",E_USER_WARNING);
}
?>

The output of the code above should be something like this:

Error: [512] Value must be 1 or below


Ending Script

Now that we have learned to create our own errors and how to trigger them, lets take a look at error
logging.

Error Logging

By default, PHP sends an error log to the servers logging system or a file, depending on how the
error_log configuration is set in the php.ini file. By using the error_log() function you can send error
logs to a specified file or a remote destination.

Sending errors messages to yourself by e-mail can be a good way of getting notified of specific
errors.

Send an Error Message by E-Mail

In the example below we will send an e-mail with an error message


and end the script, if a specific error occurs:

<?php
//error handler function
function customError($errno, $errstr)
{
echo "<b>Error:</b> [$errno] $errstr<br />";
echo "Webmaster has been notified";
error_log("Error: [$errno] $errstr",1,
"someone@example.com","From: webmaster@example.com");
}
//set error handler
set_error_handler("customError",E_USER_WARNING);
//trigger error
$test=2;
if ($test>1)
{
trigger_error("Value must be 1 or below",E_USER_WARNING);
}
?>
The output of the code above should be something like this:

Error: [512] Value must be 1 or below


Webmaster has been notified

And the mail received from the code above looks like this:

Error: [512] Value must be 1 or below

This should not be used with all errors. Regular errors should be logged on the server using the
default PHP logging system.

PHP Exception Handling

Exceptions are used to change the normal flow of a script if a specified error occurs

What is an Exception

With PHP 5 came a new object oriented way of dealing with errors.

Exception handling is used to change the normal flow of the code execution if a specified error
(exceptional) condition occurs. This condition is called an exception.

This is what normally happens when an exception is triggered:

 The current code state is saved


 The code execution will switch to a predefined (custom) exception handler function
 Depending on the situation, the handler may then resume the execution from the saved
code state, terminate the script execution or continue the script from a different location in
the code

We will show different error handling methods:

 Basic use of Exceptions


 Creating a custom exception handler
 Multiple exceptions
 Re-throwing an exception
 Setting a top level exception handler

Note: Exceptions should only be used with error conditions, and should not be used to jump to
another place in the code at a specified point.

Basic Use of Exceptions


When an exception is thrown, the code following it will not be executed, and PHP will try to find the
matching "catch" block.

If an exception is not caught, a fatal error will be issued with an "Uncaught Exception" message.

Lets try to throw an exception without catching it:

<?php
//create function with an exception
function checkNum($number)
{
if($number>1)
{
throw new Exception("Value must be 1 or below");
}
return true;
}

//trigger exception
checkNum(2);
?>

The code above will get an error like this:

Fatal error: Uncaught exception 'Exception'


with message 'Value must be 1 or below' in C:\webfolder\test.php:6
Stack trace: #0 C:\webfolder\test.php(12):
checkNum(28) #1 {main} thrown in C:\webfolder\test.php on line 6

Try, throw and catch

To avoid the error from the example above, we need to create the proper code to handle an
exception.

Proper exception code should include:

1. Try - A function using an exception should be in a "try" block. If the exception does not
trigger, the code will continue as normal. However if the exception triggers, an exception is
"thrown"
2. Throw - This is how you trigger an exception. Each "throw" must have at least one "catch"
3. Catch - A "catch" block retrieves an exception and creates an object containing the
exception information

Lets try to trigger an exception with valid code:

<?php
//create function with an exception
function checkNum($number)
{
if($number>1)
{
throw new Exception("Value must be 1 or below");
}
return true;
}
//trigger exception in a "try" block
try
{
checkNum(2);
//If the exception is thrown, this text will not be shown
echo 'If you see this, the number is 1 or below';
}

//catch exception
catch(Exception $e)
{
echo 'Message: ' .$e->getMessage();
}
?>

The code above will get an error like this:

Message: Value must be 1 or below

Example explained:

The code above throws an exception and catches it:

1. The checkNum() function is created. It checks if a number is greater than 1. If it is, an


exception is thrown
2. The checkNum() function is called in a "try" block
3. The exception within the checkNum() function is thrown
4. The "catch" block retrives the exception and creates an object ($e) containing the exception
information
5. The error message from the exception is echoed by calling $e->getMessage() from the
exception object

However, one way to get around the "every throw must have a catch" rule is to set a top level
exception handler to handle errors that slip through.

Creating a Custom Exception Class

Creating a custom exception handler is quite simple. We simply create a special class with functions
that can be called when an exception occurs in PHP. The class must be an extension of the
exception class.

The custom exception class inherits the properties from PHP's exception class and you can add
custom functions to it.

Lets create an exception class:

<?php
class customException extends Exception
{
public function errorMessage()
{
//error message
$errorMsg = 'Error on line '.$this->getLine().' in '.$this->getFile()
.': <b>'.$this->getMessage().'</b> is not a valid E-Mail address';
return $errorMsg;
}
}
$email = "someone@example...com";
try
{
//check if
if(filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL) === FALSE)
{
//throw exception if email is not valid
throw new customException($email);
}
}
catch (customException $e)
{
//display custom message
echo $e->errorMessage();
}
?>

The new class is a copy of the old exception class with an addition of the errorMessage() function.
Since it is a copy of the old class, and it inherits the properties and methods from the old class, we
can use the exception class methods like getLine() and getFile() and getMessage().

Example explained:

The code above throws an exception and catches it with a custom exception class:

1. The customException() class is created as an extension of the old exception class. This way
it inherits all methods and properties from the old exception class
2. The errorMessage() function is created. This function returns an error message if an e-mail
address is invalid
3. The $email variable is set to a string that is not a valid e-mail address
4. The "try" block is executed and an exception is thrown since the e-mail address is invalid
5. The "catch" block catches the exception and displays the error message

Multiple Exceptions

It is possible for a script to use multiple exceptions to check for multiple conditions.

It is possible to use several if..else blocks, a switch, or nest multiple


exceptions. These exceptions can use different exception classes and
return different error messages:

<?php
class customException extends Exception
{
public function errorMessage()
{
//error message
$errorMsg = 'Error on line '.$this->getLine().' in '.$this->getFile()
.': <b>'.$this->getMessage().'</b> is not a valid E-Mail address';
return $errorMsg;
}
}
$email = "someone@example.com";

try
{
//check if
if(filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL) === FALSE)
{
//throw exception if email is not valid
throw new customException($email);
}
//check for "example" in mail address
if(strpos($email, "example") !== FALSE)
{
throw new Exception("$email is an example e-mail");
}
}

catch (customException $e)


{
echo $e->errorMessage();
}
catch(Exception $e)
{
echo $e->getMessage();
}
?>

Example explained:

The code above tests two conditions and throws an exception if any of the conditions are not met:

1. The customException() class is created as an extension of the old exception class. This way
it inherits all methods and properties from the old exception class
2. The errorMessage() function is created. This function returns an error message if an e-mail
address is invalid
3. The $email variable is set to a string that is a valid e-mail address, but contains the string
"example"
4. The "try" block is executed and an exception is not thrown on the first condition
5. The second condition triggers an exception since the e-mail contains the string "example"
6. The "catch" block catches the exception and displays the correct error message

If there was no customException catch, only the base exception catch, the exception would be
handled there

Re-throwing Exceptions

Sometimes, when an exception is thrown, you may wish to handle it differently than the standard
way. It is possible to throw an exception a second time within a "catch" block.

A script should hide system errors from users. System errors may be
important for the coder, but is of no interest to the user. To make
things easier for the user you can re-throw the exception with a user
friendly message:

<?php
class customException extends Exception
{
public function errorMessage()
{
//error message
$errorMsg = $this->getMessage().' is not a valid E-Mail address.';
return $errorMsg;
}
}
$email = "someone@example.com";
try
{
try
{
//check for "example" in mail address
if(strpos($email, "example") !== FALSE)
{
//throw exception if email is not valid
throw new Exception($email);
}
}
catch(Exception $e)
{
//re-throw exception
throw new customException($email);
}
}
catch (customException $e)
{
//display custom message
echo $e->errorMessage();
}
?>

Example explained:

The code above tests if the email-address contains the string "example" in it, if it does, the
exception is re-thrown:

1. The customException() class is created as an extension of the old exception class. This way
it inherits all methods and properties from the old exception class
2. The errorMessage() function is created. This function returns an error message if an e-mail
address is invalid
3. The $email variable is set to a string that is a valid e-mail address, but contains the string
"example"
4. The "try" block contains another "try" block to make it possible to re-throw the exception
5. The exception is triggered since the e-mail contains the string "example"
6. The "catch" block catches the exception and re-throws a "customException"
7. The "customException" is caught and displays an error message

If the exception is not caught in it's current "try" block, it will search for a catch block on "higher
levels".

Set a Top Level Exception Handler

The set_exception_handler() function sets a user-defined function to


handle all uncaught exceptions.
<?php
function myException($exception)
{
echo "<b>Exception:</b> " , $exception->getMessage();
}
set_exception_handler('myException');
throw new Exception('Uncaught Exception occurred');
?>

The output of the code above should be something like this:

Exception: Uncaught Exception occurred

In the code above there was no "catch" block. Instead, the top level exception handler triggered.
This function should be used to catch uncaught exceptions.

Rules for exceptions

 Code may be surrounded in a try block, to help catch potential exceptions


 Each try block or "throw" must have at least one corresponding catch block
 Multiple catch blocks can be used to catch different classes of exceptions
 Exceptions can be thrown (or re-thrown) in a catch block within a try block

A simple rule: If you throw something, you have to catch it.

PHP Filter

PHP filters are used to validate and filter data coming from insecure sources, like user
input.

What is a PHP Filter?

A PHP filter is used to validate and filter data coming from insecure sources.

To test, validate and filter user input or custom data is an important part of any web application.

The PHP filter extension is designed to make data filtering easier and quicker.

Why use a Filter?


Almost all web applications depend on external input. Usually this comes from a user or another
application (like a web service). By using filters you can be sure your application gets the correct
input type.

You should always filter all external data!

Input filtering is one of the most important application security issues.

What is external data?

 Input data from a form


 Cookies
 Web services data
 Server variables
 Database query results

Functions and Filters

To filter a variable, use one of the following filter functions:

 filter_var() - Filters a single variable with a specified filter


 filter_var_array() - Filter several variables with the same or different filters
 filter_input - Get one input variable and filter it
 filter_input_array - Get several input variables and filter them with the same or different
filters

In the example below, we validate an integer using the filter_var()


function:

<?php
$int = 123;
if(!filter_var($int, FILTER_VALIDATE_INT))
{
echo("Integer is not valid");
}
else
{
echo("Integer is valid");
}
?>

The code above uses the "FILTER_VALIDATE_INT" filter to filter the variable. Since the integer is
valid, the output of the code above will be: "Integer is valid".

If we try with a variable that is not an integer (like "123abc"), the output will be: "Integer is not
valid".

For a complete list of functions and filters, visit our PHP Filter Reference.

Validating and Sanitizing

There are two kinds of filters:


Validating filters:

 Are used to validate user input


 Strict format rules (like URL or E-Mail validating)
 Returns the expected type on success or FALSE on failure

Sanitizing filters:

 Are used to allow or disallow specified characters in a string


 No data format rules
 Always return the string

Options and Flags

Options and flags are used to add additional filtering options to the specified filters.

Different filters have different options and flags.

In the example below, we validate an integer using the filter_var() and


the "min_range" and "max_range" options:

<?php
$var=300;
$int_options = array(
"options"=>array
(
"min_range"=>0,
"max_range"=>256
)
);
if(!filter_var($var, FILTER_VALIDATE_INT, $int_options))
{
echo("Integer is not valid");
}
else
{
echo("Integer is valid");
}
?>

Like the code above, options must be put in an associative array with the name "options". If a flag is
used it does not need to be in an array.

Since the integer is "300" it is not in the specified range, and the output of the code above will be:
"Integer is not valid".

For a complete list of functions and filters, visit our PHP Filter Reference. Check each filter to see
what options and flags are available.

Validate Input

Let's try validating input from a form.


The first thing we need to do is to confirm that the input data we are looking for exists.

Then we filter the input data using the filter_input() function.

In the example below, the input variable "email" is sent to the PHP
page:

<?php
if(!filter_has_var(INPUT_GET, "email"))
{
echo("Input type does not exist");
}
else
{
if (!filter_input(INPUT_GET, "email", FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL))
{
echo "E-Mail is not valid";
}
else
{
echo "E-Mail is valid";
}
}
?>

Example Explained

The example above has an input (email) sent to it using the "GET" method:

1. Check if an "email" input variable of the "GET" type exist


2. If the input variable exists, check if it is a valid e-mail address

Sanitize Input

Let's try cleaning up an URL sent from a form.

First we confirm that the input data we are looking for exists.

Then we sanitize the input data using the filter_input() function.

In the example below, the input variable "url" is sent to the PHP page:

<?php
if(!filter_has_var(INPUT_POST, "url"))
{
echo("Input type does not exist");
}
else
{
$url = filter_input(INPUT_POST,
"url", FILTER_SANITIZE_URL);
}
?>
Example Explained

The example above has an input (url) sent to it using the "POST" method:

1. Check if the "url" input of the "POST" type exists


2. If the input variable exists, sanitize (take away invalid characters) and store it in the $url
variable

If the input variable is a string like this


"http://www.W3ååSchøøools.com/", the $url variable after the
sanitizing will look like this:

http://www.W3Schools.com/

Filter Multiple Inputs

A form almost always consist of more than one input field. To avoid calling the filter_var or
filter_input functions over and over, we can use the filter_var_array or the filter_input_array
functions.

In this example we use the filter_input_array() function to filter three


GET variables. The received GET variables is a name, an age and an e-
mail address:

<?php
$filters = array
(
"name" => array
(
"filter"=>FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING
),
"age" => array
(
"filter"=>FILTER_VALIDATE_INT,
"options"=>array
(
"min_range"=>1,
"max_range"=>120
)
),
"email"=> FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL,
);
$result = filter_input_array(INPUT_GET, $filters);
if (!$result["age"])
{
echo("Age must be a number between 1 and 120.<br />");
}
elseif(!$result["email"])
{
echo("E-Mail is not valid.<br />");
}
else
{
echo("User input is valid");
}
?>

Example Explained

The example above has three inputs (name, age and email) sent to it using the "GET" method:

1. Set an array containing the name of input variables and the filters used on the specified
input variables
2. Call the filter_input_array() function with the GET input variables and the array we just set
3. Check the "age" and "email" variables in the $result variable for invalid inputs. (If any of the
input variables are invalid, that input variable will be FALSE after the filter_input_array()
function)

The second parameter of the filter_input_array() function can be an array or a single filter ID.

If the parameter is a single filter ID all values in the input array are filtered by the specified filter.

If the parameter is an array it must follow these rules:

 Must be an associative array containing an input variable as an array key (like the "age"
input variable)
 The array value must be a filter ID or an array specifying the filter, flags and options

Using Filter Callback

It is possible to call a user defined function and use it as a filter using the FILTER_CALLBACK filter.
This way, we have full control of the data filtering.

You can create your own user defined function or use an existing PHP function

The function you wish to use to filter is specified the same way as an option is specified. In an
associative array with the name "options"

In the example below, we use a user created function to convert all "_"
to whitespaces:

<?php
function convertSpace($string)
{
return str_replace("_", " ", $string);
}

$string = "Peter_is_a_great_guy!";

echo filter_var($string, FILTER_CALLBACK,


array("options"=>"convertSpace"));
?>

The result from the code above should look like this:

Peter is a great guy!


Example Explained

The example above converts all "_" to whitespaces:

1. Create a function to replace "_" to whitespaces


2. Call the filter_var() function with the FILTER_CALLBACK filter and an array containing our
function

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