I Teach PHP.com

Building Dynamic Web Applications
with Flash, Actionscript, PHP, and MySQL

Today's web visitors expect the pages they visit to behave like the applications on their desktop. While HTML, CSS, and Javascript can provide some of this functionality, it usually falls short of these expectations.

The latest versions of Flash with its Actionscript programming language offers great flexibility and control of the design and behavior of a user interface. These features give it great appeal to design-oriented people.

Macromedia owns Flash and the server-side scripting language called ColdFusion. As a result, many of the tutorials and printed books integrate Flash with either ColdFusion or Microsoft technologies like ASP.NET and the IIS web server. However, these technologies are expensive to deploy and have numerous and significant security issues.

PHP and MySQL are free, open-source powerhouses which make web applications possible. They are fast, reliable, and have a good security track record, especially when run with the Linux operating system and Apache web server.

In this class, we will look at building Flash web apps which use PHP and MySQL as the server-side technologies. To succeed in this, we will have to be familiar with each of the programs (Flash & Actionscript, PHP & MySQL) and determine how each can be employed to the best advantage to completing our task.

Many people who take this class will come from one background or another. Some will have taken my beginning and intermediate PHP & MySQL classes and will have some programming experience. Others will have used Flash on their own and possibly taken classes from James Jaurez or John Widell. Some of these will have Actionscript programming experience but many will not.

It will be necessary to have foundation-level skills in each of these areas. Since no one is likely to have mastery in all of these areas, we will start with fairly basic skills for each technology.

Resources

While there are no required textbooks for classes offered at CET, some people may be interested in additional resources:

Flash and PHP Integration

• Foundation PHP for Flash
  by Steve Webster
  friends of Ed; ISBN: 1903450160; 1st edition (September 2001) Search for Used
  Details how to link Flash pages with PHP and databases like MySQL. This mainly focuses on Flash 5.
  
• Advanced PHP for Flash
  by Steve Webster; et al
  friends of Ed; ISBN: 1904344038; 1st edition (September 2002) Search for Used
  More sophisticated techniques for Flash-PHP integration. Includes Actionscript functions available in Flash MX (Flash 6) and Actionscript 1.0.
  

Flash & Actionscript

• Flash Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools
  by Sham Bhangal
  O'Reilly; ISBN: 0596006454; 1st edition (June 2004) Search for Used
  Excellent resource on tips and tricks for working with Flash and Actionscript.
  
• ActionScript: The Definitive Guide
  by Colin Mook
  O'Reilly; ISBN: 1565928520; 1st edition (May 2001) Search for Used
  Primary reference for Actionscript 1.0 (Flash MX).
  
• ActionScript Cookbook
  by Joey Lott
  O'Reilly; ISBN: 0596004907; 1st edition (July 2003) Search for Used
  Examples of common tasks in Actionscript.
  

PHP

• PHP for the World Wide Web
  by Larry Ullman
  Peachpit Visual Quickstart; ISBN: 0201727870; 1st edition (2001) Search for Used
  An excellent beginner book on PHP. This author's other two books, PHP Advanced for the World Wide Web and PHP & MySQL for the World Wide Web, are also very good.
  
• PHP Developer's Cookbook
  by Sterling Hughes; Andrei Zmievski
  Sams; ISBN: 0672323257; 2nd edition (December 2001) Search for Used
  Samples of common tasks in PHP. A great resource for people who have prigramming experience but need to know how a task is done in PHP.
  
• PHP Cookbook
  by David Sklar; Adam Trachtenberg
  O'Reilly; ISBN: 1565926811; 1st edition (November 2002) Search for Used
  More samples of common tasks in PHP.
  
• Professional PHP4 Multimedia Programming
  by Allan Kent; et al
  O'Reilly; ISBN: 1861007647; 1st edition (2002) Search for Used
  Includes discussion of MING, the method to generate dynamic SWF files from within PHP.
  
• Professional PHP Web Services
  by James Fuller; et al
  O'Reilly; ISBN: 1861008074; 1st edition (2003) Search for Used
  Implementing Web Services with PHP. Web services can be consumed in Flash/Actionscript.
  

Structured Query Language and MySQL

• MySQL Pocket Reference
  by George Reese
  O'Reilly; ISBN: 059600446X; 1st edition (November 2002) Search for Used
  Definitions of SQL statements and functions for MySQL.
  
• SQL IN A NUTSHELL
  by Kevin Kline; Daniel Kline
  O'Reilly; ISBN: 1565927443; 1st edition (November 2002) Search for Used
  Examples of ANSI standard Structured Query Language and details on four popular implementations: Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MS SQL Server.
  

Linux & Apache

• Linux Pocket Guide
  by Daniel J. Barrett
  O'Reilly; ISBN: 0596006284; 1st edition (February 2004) Search for Used
  Definitions and examples of the most commonly-used Linux commands.
  

Day 1

1. Registration
2. Survey
3. Review of current and forthcoming classes as listed on ITeachPHP.com
4. Overview of key technologies used in this class:
   • HTML
   • Cascading Style Sheets
   • PHP
   • MySQL
   • Linux
   • Flash
   • Actionscript
   • XML
   • Web Services