Defining the Core Structure of a PHP Blogger (
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In the first part of this three-part series, we'll examine the basic outlines of creating a blog application with PHP 5. If you're currently working with PHP 4, this program can be adapted to that version of the language.
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Introduction
Anyone who has been using PHP for a while knows that building fairly simple database-driven web applications is indeed a straightforward process that can be accomplished with minor headaches. Whether you've been developing the core engine of a small website, or creating a decent search system that uses a database backend for indexing relevant content, the truth is that PHP makes it really easy to create these kinds of applications.
True to form, building web-based systems that implement some type of interaction with a RDBMS, particularly with one as popular as MySQL, is an experience that you've probably tackled a dozen times, or even more if you're a seasoned PHP developer with many hours of sleepless hard work on your shoulders.
Among the plethora of database-driven applications that you can create with PHP without having to scratch your head until you lose your hair is one that has become very popular over the last two years. I'm speaking specifically of bloggers, which allow anyone to insert easily editable content onto a website by using only a graphical front end. Of course, when I use the term "editable," I mean that all the blog entries can be updated and even deleted without having to know a pinch of web programming.
Since this powerful approach, which is also used heavily with content management systems, can be implemented in PHP with minor hassles, I've prepared for you a three-part series that will teach you in a friendly manner how to create an extensible blog mechanism.
Naturally, the blogger that I'll build over the course of these articles will be provided with the capacity for performing the most common tasks associated with this kind of application, like inserting, updating and deleting blog entries, in addition to including some extra features that you'll discover in turn in the different tutorials.
Assuming that building a blogger with PHP is really an interesting topic for you, let's learn together how this useful application can be developed in a few easy steps. Let's get going!
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