Practical PHP 7, MySQL 8 and MariaDB: Building Web Databases

Introduction

The book «Practical PHP 7, MySQL 8, and MariaDB Website Databases» (authors: Adrian W. West, Steve Prettyman, 2018, 624 pages) is a practical guide for those who want to master creating dynamic websites using modern versions of PHP, MySQL, and MariaDB. Unlike many theoretical textbooks, this book is built around real projects: you will step-by-step create a full-featured website with a registration system, forum, online store, and admin panel. The material is aimed at beginners and intermediate developers who are already familiar with the basics of HTML/CSS and want to move on to server-side programming.

What the book is about

The book consists of 15 chapters and several appendices. The first chapters are devoted to setting up a development environment (XAMPP, MAMP, WAMP) and the basics of PHP 7: variables, arrays, functions, working with forms. Then the authors move on to MySQL 8 and MariaDB: database design, SQL queries, connecting to PHP via PDO and mysqli. The main part is a step-by-step creation of three projects:

• Business card website with an admin panel — content management via a database.
• Forum with registration — authentication, sessions, protection against SQL injection.
• Online store — shopping cart, order processing, admin panel.

Separate chapters are devoted to security (XSS, CSRF, password hashing), query optimization, and deploying the site on a hosting provider. At the end of the book are appendices with checklists, a reference guide to PHP and SQL functions, and tips for migrating from MySQL to MariaDB.

Who this book is for

The book is intended for beginning web developers who want to quickly move from static layout to dynamic websites. It will also be useful for those who have worked with PHP 5 and want to update their knowledge to version 7 (taking into account new features: strict typing, improved performance, null coalescing operator). For complete beginners in programming, the book may seem difficult — it is recommended to first study the basics of HTML/CSS and at least basic programming concepts (variables, conditions, loops).

What the reader will learn

• Install and configure a local server (XAMPP, MAMP).
• Write clean and secure PHP 7 code using PDO.
• Design relational databases in MySQL 8 and MariaDB.
• Create a user registration and authentication system.
• Implement CRUD operations (create, read, update, delete records).
• Protect the site from common vulnerabilities (SQL injection, XSS, CSRF).
• Work with sessions and cookies.
• Build a simple online store shopping cart.
• Deploy a finished site on a real hosting provider.

Strengths

Practical focus. Each chapter contains ready-made code that can be immediately run and modified. Projects of increasing complexity allow you to consolidate skills on real-world tasks.

Relevance. The book was published in 2018, but PHP 7, MySQL 8, and MariaDB remain in demand in 2025. The authors pay attention to modern practices: PDO instead of the outdated mysql_, prepared queries, bcrypt hashing.

Dual focus on MySQL and MariaDB. Given that MariaDB is becoming the standard in many Linux distributions, this gives the reader flexibility in choosing a DBMS.

Detailed explanations. Each block of code is accompanied by comments and explanations of "why it works this way." This helps not just to copy, but to understand the logic.

Who is recommended

The book will be useful for:

• Beginning PHP developers who want to build their portfolio.
• IT students studying web technologies.
• Freelancers looking for a practical guide for a quick start.
• Small business owners who want to independently develop a