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PHP 7 Programming Cookbook

Chapter 1. Building a Foundation

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

PHP 7 installation considerations
Using the built-in PHP web server
Defining a test MySQL database
Installing PHPUnit
Implementing class autoloading
Hoovering a website
Building a deep web scanner
Creating a PHP 5 to PHP 7 code converter

PHP 7 installation considerations

There are three primary means of acquiring PHP 7:

Downloading and installing directly from the source code
Installing pre-compiled binaries
Installing a *AMP package (that is, XAMPP, WAMP, LAMP, MAMP, and so on)

How to do it...

The three methods are listed in order of difficulty. However, the first approach, although tedious, will give you the most finite control over extensions and options.

Installing directly from source

In order to utilize this approach, you will need to have a C compiler available. If you are running Windows, MinGW is a free compiler that has proven popular. It is based on the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) compiler provided by the GNU project. Non-free compilers include the classic Turbo C compiler from Borland, and, of course, the compiler that is preferred by Windows developers is Visual Studio. The latter, however, is designed mainly for C++ development, so when you compile PHP, you will need to specify C mode.

When working on an Apple Mac, the best solution is to install the Apple Developer Tools. You can use the Xcode IDE to compile PHP 7, or run gcc from a terminal window. In a Linux environment, from a terminal window, run gcc.

When compiling from a terminal window or command line, the normal procedure is as follows:

configure
make
make test
make install

For information on configuration options (that is, when running configure), use the help option:

configure --help

Errors you might encounter during the configuration stage are mentioned in the following table:

Error

Fix

configure: error: xml2-config not found. Please check your libxml2 installation

You just need to install libxml2. For this error, please refer to the following link:

http://superuser.com/questions/740399/how-to-fix-php-installation-when-xml2-config-is-missing

configure: error: Please reinstall readline - I cannot find readline.h

Install libreadline-dev

configure: WARNING: unrecognized options: --enable-spl, --enable-reflection, --with-libxml

Not a big deal. These options are defaults and don't need to be included. For more details, please refer to the following link:

http://jcutrer.com/howto/linux/how-to-compile-php7-on-ubuntu-14-04

Installing PHP 7 from pre-compiled binaries

As the title implies, pre-compiled binaries are a set of binary files that somebody else has kindly compiled from PHP 7 source code and has made available.

In the case of Windows, go to http://windows.php.net/. You will find a good set of tips in the left column that pertain to which version to choose, thread safe versus non-read safe, and so forth. You can then click on Downloads and look for the ZIP file that applies to your environment. Once the ZIP file has been downloaded, extract the files into the folder of your choice, add php.exe to your path, and configure PHP 7 using the php.ini file.

To install the pre-compiled binaries on a Mac OS X system, it is best to involve a package management system. The ones recommended for PHP include the following:

MacPorts
Liip
Fink
Homebrew

In the case of Linux, the packaging system used depends on which Linux distribution you are using. The following table, organized by Linux distribution, summarizes where to look for the PHP 7 package.

Distribution	Where to find PHP 7	Notes
Debian	`packages.debian.org/stable/php` `repos-source.zend.com/zend-server/early-access/php7/php-7DEB`	Use this command: sudo apt-get install php7 Alternatively, you can use a graphical package management tool such as Synaptic. Make sure you select php7 (and not php5).
Ubuntu	`packages.ubuntu.com` `repos-source.zend.com/zend-server/early-access/php7/php-7DEB`	Use this command: `sudo apt-get install php7` Be sure to choose the right version of Ubuntu. Alternatively, you can use a graphical package management tool such as Synaptic.
Fedora / Red Hat	`admin.fedoraproject.org/pkgdb/packages` `repos-source.zend.com/zend-server/early-access/php7/php-7RHEL`	Make sure you are the root user: su Use this command: dnf install php7 Alternatively, you can use a graphical package management tool such as the GNOME Package Manager.
OpenSUSE	`software.opensuse.org/package/php7`	Use this command: yast -i php7 Alternatively, you can run `zypper`, or use YaST as a graphical tool.

Installing a *AMP package

AMP refers to Apache, MySQL, and PHP (also Perl and Python). The * refers to Linux, Windows, Mac, and so on (that is, LAMP, WAMP, and MAMP). This approach is often the easiest, but gives you less control over the initial PHP installation. On the other hand, you can always modify the php.ini file and install additional extensions to customize your installation as needed. The following table summarizes a number of popular *AMP packages:

Package	Where is it found	Free?	Supports*
`XAMPP`	www.apachefriends.org/download.html	Y	WML
`AMPPS`	www.ampps.com/downloads	Y	WML
`MAMP`	www.mamp.info/en	Y	WM
`WampServer`	sourceforge.net/projects/wampserver	Y	W
`EasyPHP`	www.easyphp.org	Y	W
`Zend Server`	www.zend.com/en/products/zend_server	N	WML

In the preceding table, we've enlisted the *AMP packages where * is replaced by W for Windows, M for Mac OS X, and L for Linux.

There's more...

When you install a pre-compiled binary from a package, only core extensions are installed. Non-core PHP extensions must be installed separately.

It's worth noting that PHP 7 installation on cloud computing platforms will often follow the installation procedure outlined for pre-compiled binaries. Find out if your cloud environment uses Linux, Mac, or Windows virtual machines, and then follow the appropriate procedure as mentioned in this recipe.

It's possible that PHP 7 hasn't yet reached your favorite repository for pre-compiled binaries. You can always install from source, or consider installing one of the *AMP packages (see the next section). An alternative for Linux-based systems is to use the Personal Package Archive (PPA) approach. Because PPAs have not undergone a rigorous screening process, however, security could be a concern. A good discussion on security considerations for PPAs is found at http://askubuntu.com/questions/35629/are-ppas-safe-to-add-to-my-system-and-what-are-some-red-flags-to-watch-out-fo.

PHP 7 comes with a myriad of new features and great tools to optimize your code and make your code perform faster than in previous versions. Most importantly, it allows you to maintain high traffic on your websites with low-cost hardware and servers through a multithreading web server. This book demonstrates intermediate to advanced PHP techniques with a focus on PHP 7. Each recipe is designed to solve practical, real-world problems faced by PHP developers like yourself every day. We also cover new ways of writing PHP code made possible only in version 7. In addition, we discuss backward-compatibility breaks and give you plenty of guidance on when and where PHP 5 code needs to be changed to produce the correct results when running under PHP 7. This book also incorporates the latest PHP 7.x features. By the end of the book, you will be equipped with the tools and skills required to deliver efficient applications for your websites and enterprises.

What you will learn

Use advanced PHP 7 features, such as the Abstract Syntax Tree, Uniform Variable Syntax, Scalar Type Hints, Generator Delegation, Anonymous Classes, and the Context Sensitive Lexer

Discover where and when PHP 5 code needs to be re-written to avoid backwards-compatibility breaks

Improve the overall application security and error handling by taking advantage of classes that implement the new throwable interface

Solve practical real-world programming problems using PHP 7

Develop middle-wareclasses that allow PHP developers to gluedifferent open source libraries together seamlessly

Define and Implement PSR-7 classes

Create custom middleware using PSR-7 compliant classes

Test and debug your code, and get to know the best practices

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vikey89 Oct 17, 2016

I was the Technical Reviewer on this book. It is focused on PHP 7, the latest version of PHP most likely the version with the highest performance.The book is clearly written, full of real examples that help the reader to understand the dynamics of the web. Also in the book it is included some fundamental Design Patterns for each developer.I recommend to read it.

Amazon Verified review

Amazon Customer Mar 26, 2017

This book will get you up to speed on PHP 7 through lots of very good code examples. A must-read for any developer that wants to unlock the benefits of using PHP 7!

thomas Oct 27, 2018

Super reference for php 7.x

Shawn Flock Apr 18, 2017

Great book if you start on page 53. The beginning is a tad bit confusing. But if you pick and chose what you want to learn about or start at chapter 3 it is phenomenal. Straight, to the point, with lots and lots of information.

Salvatore Pappalardo Sep 11, 2016

I've known Doug for long time and I was happy to have had the opportunityto review his last PHP book especially because it is focused on PHP7, oneof PHP version with the most impressive performance increase of ever and alot of brand new nice features.I liked so much the pragmatic approach of the book and the "learn byexample" style of all chapters, because it allows to understand immediatelynot only why a feature was introduced but also how to use it efficiently inreal and common problems of a developer life.Among all, I've appreciated mainly chapters about common advancedalgorithms and most used design patterns, both explained very well andsimple.Definitely recommended!

PHP 7 Programming Cookbook: Over 80 recipes that will take your PHP 7 web development skills to the next level!

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PHP 7 Programming Cookbook

Chapter 1. Building a Foundation

Introduction

PHP 7 installation considerations