This project provides a minimal PHP starter for inline scripting, allowing developers to quickly write and execute PHP code within HTML. It supports PDO (PHP Data Objects) for secure database interactions.
With this inline PHP starter, developers can easily mix PHP logic with HTML without the need for complex setups or frameworks. It’s ideal for beginners learning PHP basics, quick prototyping, or handling simple dynamic content in a web page.
These instructions will get you a copy of the project up and running on your local machine for development and testing purposes.
Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed on your system:
- PHP (Version 7.4 or later recommended)
- A Web Server (Optional: Apache, Nginx, or use PHP’s built-in server)
- A Code Editor (Recommended: VS Code, Sublime Text, or PHPStorm)
- A Web Browser (e.g., Chrome, Firefox) to test your application
- A Database (Optional) – MySQL, MariaDB, or SQLite if you plan to use a database
- Clone the Repository (if using Git):
git clone https://github.com/Arifrebe/simple-php-project-setup.git
Then, navigate to the project directory:
cd simple-php-project-setup
- Run the Project Using PHP’s Built-in Server
php -S localhost:8000
Now, open your browser and visit:
http://localhost:8000
To use this PHP starter project, simply open the home.view.php in the views folder and start adding your PHP logic inside the <body> section.
Example of embedding PHP in HTML:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>PHP Starter</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to My Simple PHP Project</h1>
<p>Current Date and Time: <?php echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s"); ?></p>
</body>
</html>
This project supports PDO (PHP Data Objects) for secure and efficient database connections.
Ensure you have your config.php file with the following content:
<?php
// Define your database credentials
define('DBNAME', 'pictoria');
define('DBHOST', 'localhost');
define('DBUSER', 'root');
define('DBPASS', '');
define('DBDRIVER', 'mysql');
?>
<?php
require 'database.php';
$sql = "SELECT * FROM users";
$stmt = $pdo->prepare($sql);
$stmt->execute();
$users = $stmt->fetchAll();
foreach ($users as $user) {
echo "User: " . $user['name'] . "<br>";
}
?>
<?php
require 'database.php';
$sql = "INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (:name, :email)";
$stmt = $pdo->prepare($sql);
$stmt->execute([
'name' => 'John Doe',
'email' => 'john@example.com'
]);
echo "User added successfully!";
?>
To improve user experience, this project use support for beautiful links (clean URLs) using .htaccess in Apache. This removes the need to include .php file extensions in URLs.
Instead of accessing:
http://localhost:8000/home.php
You can now access:
http://localhost:8000/home
This makes URLs cleaner and more user-friendly.
With this setup, you can now securely and efficiently interact with your MySQL database using PDO, and you also get the benefit of beautiful URLs using .htaccess. Modify the config.php file for different environments (e.g., development, production), and feel free to extend the functionality to support CRUD operations.