i need to devise sample app for my tute

Anon

Hi there

Hope one of you guys can help me.

I'm just about to start work on a training CD to teach PHP. I am going to run through all the basics .. then demonstrate the devising and execution of a fairly sample application, to put some of the theory into a single concrete bit of practise (of course there will smaller practical examples all the way through, but this will be the meatiest bit at the end of the course).

I don't have much room, so it has to be just one example app. And I can't quite decide what would both put into practise a lot of useful PHP, and also correlate closely to apps that the user may end up creating in the real world.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Tommy X3Ro.

amcgrath

If u want my 2 cents, a web form that needs text input, as well as as multipple choice selections, witha file upload added for good measure. That'll cover about 70% of the problems I read here....

foxden

Also include pattern matching/replacing, and many forms of sql querries (insert, update, &&, ||, >, =, <)

amcgrath

and, while we're still at it, you might wanna think aobut sessions and how it all works.

edwardsbc

In your very first test, make sure your students understand the basics of HTTP and HTML. Many questions on this forum have nothing to do with PHP, but are related to a misunderstanding of how the web actually works. For example Headers, Cookies, GETs and PUTs are often misunderstood by beginners. May as well include .htaccess/AUTH issues as well as what SSL is and is not, mutlipart MIME, the list goes on and on...

Anon

yeah, thanks for the tip .. ill have to specify at the beginning what i expect my students to know: html, how web servers work, the use of at least one RDBMS. i cant teach them every related subj or the project will end up like an video encyclopaedia. but youre right, there are a plethora of grey areas and related issues .. cookies and sessions are a good example.

Anon

thanks mate. file upload is something i hadnt considered including ..

what im actually after though, is a practical, pseudo-real-life app that could demand those kind of features. ive been trying to think and my mind is going blank 🙂

Anon

thanks mate 🙂

sarahk

That's not too hard

Since these guys are into software how about a bug tracking system. I wrote a rough one based on a guest book system but didn't use sessions - wish I had.

Cookies remember your last login
Sessions remember that you've logged in
MySql stores the bugs which have been entered - I even did a filter where mysql stored the last search, but that should probably have been done with cookies too.
File upload for screen dumps and error logs
Templates (phplib or fasttemplate) for practice on standard layouts.

Mine took me a day or so to evolve but it was a learning tool also so could be good for your purposes. However I don't recommend using mine as a platform or starting point. It's got alot cobbled together. It works but is NOT a work of art. Contact me directly if you'd like to see the end result.

Sarah

sarahk

Oh, yeah

I also:
use a class to manage my database access
send an email to the person assigned a bug when the person entering/ updating the bug is not the person assigned. Before sending I check to see if the person has logged in since last receiving a "you've got work to do email" and only send it if they have. This way they don't get a flood of emails.

I figure from your domain you're up in Brisbane. Guess you'll be having a nice smoke-free summer up there! Auckland's got it blowing over to us would you believe!