POWERUp 2019

PHP is the most widely used server-side web programming language in the world. It can run on your IBM i server (as well as many other platforms), and it is used primarily for dynamically generating HTML documents which can include database content from DB2 on your IBM i. In this lab you will learn about and practice basic PHP syntax, as well as how to access DB2 data to populate HTML documents. You will learn about how to read input from the browser and dynamically build an HTML document using a combination of HTML, PHP and SQL. We will review the HTML tags for tables, forms and input fields in order to create prompt screens and database inquiries. This lab is geared toward the RPG programmer with limited or no experience developing PHP web applications. This will be a self-guided lab – i.e., you will follow clear instructions from a printed lab guide, sometimes writing code from scratch, and sometimes using templates with key pieces missing, in order to maximize your time. It is highly recommended (but not mandatory) that you attend John's presentation on Connecting the Dots with PHP, as there will be no lecture/PowerPoint during the lab session. Rather than focus on language syntax directly, these exercises will teach you syntax through the applications you are building. In the process, you will also get exposure to some of the most important HTML tags that you need to create useful business applications with PHP. You will also get some experience using Zend Studio, the premier IDE for PHP development on IBM i.