Welcome to my web site that provides information and links to various projects I am working on.

I have been working as a Web Programmer and Web Designer for a number of years in the south west of England UK, starting out in the good old days of the internet. In those days I worked with the Microsoft asp scripting language and had to create page layouts with the much simpler concepts of CSS that were around then. I then moved onto dot net and database programming as those technologies developed.

I started to become interested in the PHP programming language which I could see had great potential, and for some time now I have been writing PHP and MySQL applications for such things as selling digital downloads which have been quite successful. You can read descriptions of these applications further down this page.

My other great interest is WordPress which is a terrific application for creating content management and blog systems. The programming features of Plugins and Themes provide endless customisation.

I have also taught in a local further education college on Web Design and PHP Programming.

From teaching PHP I was able to develop a book which I constantly update and tweak and sell as an eBook. You can see a description of the book further down this page.

 Web sites and Contact details

You can contact me through this email address: paul@nullpaulvgibbs.com

As well as this site, my other main web site is: https://www.withinweb.com

 

 Book, PHP Tutorials: Programming with MySQL and PHP

This book was written from a set of courses I teach in a Further Education college. It contains of a number of code samples and examples that you can download from this site.

The book starts with an introduction to PHP and then goes on to MySQL and how to use SQL with the PHP language.

It provides an introduction to web programming, how to display data from a database and update data to the database. It explains issues that you encounter in real world situations and provides the basic code from which you can then use to further develop.

If would be helpful if you have some HTML knowledge but the examples do provide you with what you need know. It is also helpful to have had some experience in programming using one of the more popular languages such as Visual Basic although this is not necessary.

Many of the tutorials consists of a series of examples and tasks intended to illustrate each point and concentrate on simplified code so that you can see how to use it.

• Introduction – Basic PHP concepts.
• Variables – Variables, programming techniques and so on.
• Forms and PHP – Posting data between forms.
• Arrays – Loops and array structures.
• Basic PHP structures – include files and how to use them.
• Functions – Writing and using your own functions.
• Posting Forms – How forms work.
• Email Forms – An email form.
• JavaScript – Posting forms with JavaScript.
• SQL and MySQL – Querying database tables using SQL.
• An Example table – Some example data.
• Database Access – How to connect to a database.
• Using PHP and MySQL – An example form.
• Further PHP and MySQL – More PHP and MySQL.
• Error handling and debugging – Simple methods to find errors.
• Cookies and sessions – When and where to use them.
• Modifying Records – Editing and updating databases with PHP and SQL.
• Classes – An introduction to object orientated programming.
• File Handling – Reading and writing to text files.
• Regular Expressions and Validation – Some validation methods.
• PDO Class – An example of a class for PDO.
• PHP Cart – A full working shopping cart example.
• PHP security – Some methods to overcome this issue.
• JQuery, Ajax and Bootstrap.
• htaccess and php.ini – How to use them.
• WordPress – An introduction to creating a WordPress Plugin.
• Appendix – XAMPP Server and MySQL Management.

A sample of the book with the contents page is available on the amazon web site at
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0992869765(US)
or
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0992869765(UK)

Updated to edition 6 with new examples, expanded code explanations and updated material.

 Purchase

The book is available in various formats: paperback, Kindle eBook or PDF.

There are a number of ways that you can purchase the Book:

Click on this button will take you to the amazon web site to purchase in Kindle version or paperback.

US Kindle Store

UK Kindle Store

Click on the following button will allow you to purchase the PDF of the book using PayPal or any credit card that PayPal will accept.

Purchase PDF

 Code downloads

The PHP code for the latest version of the book can be obtained in one zip file from the link below:

Download Source Code for PHP Tutorials Book

The book references the code by chapter and name so you should be able to easily find any particular script that you are looking for.

Archive code downloads

The source code for the previous editions of the book can also be obtained from the link below. You may want to download this version if you have an older edition of the book. However, I would recommend downloading the latest source code even though there has been some changes to the Chapter numbering.

Download Source Code for PHP Tutorials Book (4/5 Edition)

 

Book, jQuery e-Commerce Shopping Cart

This book illustrates the various technologies needed to create a complete shopping cart application using front-end web programming based on JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Each Chapter builds on the various concepts with all the source code available from my web site.

We can take the principles of AJAX that are available in jQuery to easily fetch data from the server without having to load the whole web page, that creates a far better experience for site visitors. We can use jQuery with an understanding of HTML and CSS to modify and interact with a shopping system.

So this book is about creating attractive web layouts and interactive web pages as simply as possible.

It would be helpful if you have a basic understanding of coding. This can be knowledge of any language so it should be quite straightforward to pick up the principles of JavaScript if you have not done any JavaScript before.

We don’t go into the basics of programming such as describing what a “for loop” is or what an “if else statement” is although we do describe principles where necessary.

All examples are provided as downloads so you should be able to follow the code without too many issues.

You should also have a reasonable understanding of HTML and CSS but you can get by with only a rudimentary knowledge of these. For example, you need to know the difference between >p< and >br/< and you need to know how to create a CSS file with some styles.

• Chapter 01 – Introduction
• Chapter 02 – Responsive Web Design
• Chapter 03 – Using jQuery to Manipulate the DOM
• Chapter 04 – jQuery Animation and Other Effects
• Chapter 05 – Cookies, Session and Local Storage
• Chapter 06 – JSON Format
• Chapter 07 – Fetching an external JSON file
• Chapter 08 – Displaying the Web Page
• Chapter 09 – Local Storage Shopping Cart
• Chapter 10 – PayPal IPN in PHP
• Chapter 11 – Shopping Cart with IPN
• Chapter 12 – AJAX and Flickr API
• Appendix – Using XAMPP

Code downloads

The source code for the latest version of the book can be obtained in one zip file from the link below:

Download Source Code for jQuery Shopping Cart Book

The book references the code by chapter and name so you should be able to easily find any particular script that you are looking for.

A sample of the book with the contents page is available on the amazon web site at
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KC5MGXB (US)
or
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09KC5MGXB (UK)

Purchase

Click on this button will take you to the Amazon web site to purchase in Kindle version.

US Kindle Store

UK Kindle Store

Click on the following button will allow you to purchase the PDF of the book using PayPal or any credit card that PayPal will accept.

Purchase PDF

 

Book, HTML Beginners: Basics of Web Design

This book has been written from a series of college lectures on Web Design. It is has many exercises and examples that can be downloaded from the web site. It starts with an introduction to HTML and then takes the reader through the concepts of styles and how to apply them.

There are also chapters on Graphics, JQuery, setting up a web site and looks at HTML 5 and responsive web design concepts.

The book explains issues that you encounter in real world situations and provides the basic examples from which you can then use to further develop. Many of the tutorials consists of a series of examples and tasks that illustrate each point and concentrate on simplified code so that you can see how they are used.

• Introduction – An introduction to HTML.
• HTML Tags – A look at standard HTML Tags.
• Images and Tables – Using images and creating tables.
• Styles and Stylesheets – Different ways to use styles.
• Further Styles – Definitions and further examples.
• Site Examples – A site layout.
• Lists and Menus – Creating navigation.
• Graphics – Graphic concepts and Photoshop.
• Layouts – Some principles of design.
• Adding functionality – JQuery and other features.
• htaccess file – Examples of using an htaccess file.
• Site set up – Domain names and search optimisation.
• Forms – Formatting and layout of forms.
• HTML 5 Design – Features of HTML 5.
• Responsive Design – A responsive design example.
• Appendix on adding Google Maps to your web site

A sample of the book with the contents page is available on the amazon web site at:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SDK86YK (US) or https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SDK86YK (UK)

Purchase

Click on this button will take you to the Amazon web site to purchase the Kindle version.

US Kindle Store

UK Kindle Store

Click on this button will allow you to purchase the PDF of the book using PayPal or any credit card that PayPal will accept.

Purchase PDF

 Code downloads

The HTML code for the latest version of the book can be obtained in one zip file from the link below:

Download Source Code for HTML Beginners eBook

The book references the code by chapter and name so you should be able to easily find any particular script that you are looking for.

 

Multi Choice Questions (MCQ) on PHP

The following Multi Choice Quiz is for your amusement and delectation. It consists of a number of questions to test your knowledge of PHP in various categories. As time goes on, the number of quizzes will be expanded to cover more topics.

PHP Multi Choice Questions

 

 PHP, MySQL Applications

The following is a list of the applications I have developed.

Sell downloads with PayPal

PHP-eSeller is a PHP MySQL application for selling digital and physical goods from your web site with PayPal. It can be used to sell downloads (such as software programs, mp3 files, graphics, icons, photos, ring tones, eBooks, videos) from your web site. It can also sell physical (tangible) products as well.

The application provides the checking of the completed transaction from PayPal, secure downloading of digital goods, the sending of confirmation emails, and a shopping cart to display the items.

Subscription manager

PHP-SecureArea is a PHP MySQL application to control access to folders on your web site using PayPal subscription payments. It allows authorized members to access a secure area of a web site after the purchase of a PayPal subscription.

Members are automatically allocated to the secure areas after payment has been confirmed from PayPal or manually added through the admin displays.

PHP-SecureArea provides the checking of the completed transaction from PayPal, administration of memberships, and the sending of confirmation email and password to the customers.

The application does not have to be used with PayPal, as users can be manually created through the admin interface.

Sell software key codes with PayPal

PHP-KeyCodes is a PHP MySQL application to sell software and licence key codes from your web with with PayPal. Use this application on a web site to sell software licence codes, key codes or PIN numbers using the PayPal IPN system with single purchase buy now buttons.

PHP-KeyCodes provides the checking of the completed transaction before the codes are sent out to the purchaser.

After successful purchase, the top key code is extracted and automatically sent to the customer without any intervention by yourself.