Project Roadmap and Resources

Most everyone will need

Basic PHP






More advanced PHP


Additional resources for going further:
For identity, you will need a few more concepts.

Here is an example of a basic "login" page, the big concept here is "sessions," i.e. how the computer "knows" if you are logged in or out. Note that this DOESN'T store the password safely AT ALL
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/php/php_login_example.htm

Next is password "storage" — but of course, we don't ever actually store passwords, but their hashes
https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.password-hash.php
https://www.php.net/manual/en/function.password-verify.php


and the answer to the below question is a practical example done in a "flat file" — i.e. without a database.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32627087/add-password-hash-to-php-with-txt-flatfile-database


PHP + MYSQL


Now, most typically, you will see php paired with MYSQL, a type of database. Given that most often, when people build with php, they are working on large and complex services, it makes sense to bear the additional complexity that comes with adding a database to the mix.

The theory behind how to include MYSQL queries (which are any command) is simple, the execution, not so much. First, consider how one may interact with a SQL type database. You do so through relatively "literate" queries, e.g. "SELECT firstname,lastname FROM employees WHERE salary < 50000" is pretty self explanatory.

The difficulty comes from — ( 1 ) , telling PHP to execute those commands and getting back the results ( 2 ) SAFELY.
Part 1 wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for part 2: to wit:
https://bobby-tables.com/

Over time, there have been a number of solutions. Presently, best practices involve using "PDO" (which yes, feels like YET ANOTHER LAYER of abstraction)
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/what-is-pdo-in-php/
Broadly, what this does is called "parameter binding," a fancy way to preven bobby-tables et al

Again, though, if you see examples using things like, e.g. "MySQLi" — these are generally DEPRECATED and shouldn't be used, according to industry.

PHP examples

PHP Example Code
Home:Miscellany:5367-det:Simple PHP Notepad

https://gitlab.com/jrm4/mahrss (honestly, I'd forgotten about this. Grabbing feeds works, but the login system has an issue?)


Javascript


Fundamentals
https://www.dottedsquirrel.com/fundamentals-javascript/

Object-Oriented Javascript
https://web.archive.org/web/20220308023655/https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/introduction-object-oriented-programming-javascript/

knowledgebase:Javascript

Mostly here, it's all about whatever libraries you use. The easy thing about Javascript is that you can usually either download the javascript library you're using as a file and just stick it on the server, or frequently just use it with a one line include. This is of course less safe in terms of permanence, but should work fine for what we are doing.

E.g
Threed-js example



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