PHP FAQ Highlight

Before I get into this article, I want to say that I thought long and hard about what to write for this week's PHP article. Should I do a beginner piece covering some common functions that might be of some assistance to a newbie? How about something a little more advanced, like OOP techniques or things to keep in mind from a security standpoint?

I started looking through some of the articles that have covered such topics on our own site in the past (see http://www.devshed.com/c/b/PHP/). Then it hit me: not only do we have a plethora of great PHP how-to's - easily enough to make a man out of the most newb of PHP developers - but we also have what is probably - no, Definitely - the greatest PHP and Open Source forum on the net today, crawling with coders of all shapes and sizes.

Nestled in-between the threads and posts, there are hidden gems - veritable founts of programming knowledge, grown and cultivated over nearly a decade. With that in mind, I thought to myself: why write what others have already covered so thoroughly and from so many different angles? Why not showcase this knowledge so that others can learn from it. Plus, let's face it - as the resident Ed-in-Chief, my time is limited and I'm swimming in programmer-fame - why not let some others, such as those that contributed to our PHP FAQ threads, bask in the glory that is Dev Shed writerdom.

So without further ado, here are some of the FAQs you can find in the Dev Shed Forums (http://www.forums.devshed.com) in the PHP FAQ section (http://forums.devshed.com/php-faqs-and-stickies-167/):

How to Program a Secure Login System Using PHP and MySQL
As the name indicates, this thread, started by forum member E-Oreo, shows you how to create a simple and secure login system. It is a great thread for programmers of any level. Check it out - and if you can contribute or think of any suggestions to improve upon the code, feel free to add to the conversation!
http://forums.devshed.com/php-faqs-and-stickies-167/how-to-program-a-basic-but-secure-login-system-using-891201.html

Looking for information on object oriented programming techniques? We have an intro thread located at http://forums.devshed.com/php-faqs-and-stickies-167/an-introduction-to-object-oriented-programming-859990.html. Give it some sweet eye love - you never know, you might learn something.

We also have PHP resources thread (http://forums.devshed.com/php-faqs-and-stickies-167/php5-zend-2-0-resourcest-61849.html) and a Security thread you can check out (http://forums.devshed.com/php-faqs-and-stickies-167/everyone-must-read-security-notes-20525.html). They are both in the process of being updated, but provide some sound advice. You can also bookmark it and check back frequently over the next few months as we begin to update both threads with new information.

Until next time!