Client-Server TCP/IP Connections with PHP

Faced with the need for an application that must be capableof accessing the Internet, “lazy” author Marco Tabini takes theeasy road—thanks to PHP.

If you are familiar with TCP/IP networking and have had thedispleasure of working with sockets before, you know just howannoying and painful it can be. The PHP interface to socketprogramming, however, is nothing short of spectacularly simple touse, all the while providing a higher degree of functionality thanits lower-level cousins.
—by Marco Tabini

A Developer s Introduction to Web Automation and Scraping using Scout

Staff editor Peter James talks about Scout a PHP application hewrote to make it possible for programs to navigate complex websitesautomatically and extract information according to specificrules. —by Peter James

Making Your Code More Readable

Writing code is an art, and like any art it has rules thatseparate the beautiful from the ordinary. Veteran php|a authorStuart Herbert delves into the world of writing code thatothers—and you—will want to read. If you’ve everwondered whether the Hungarian Notation is a good choice for yourproject, or if you’ve asked yourself how you can best comment yourcode, this article is for you.—by Stuart Herbert

Introducing GeekLog

GeekLog is a versatile Content Management System written inPHP and designed to be easy to install, configure and run. AndrewGray takes us through a tour of its functionality, and a detailedguide of how to get it up and running on your very own system.
—by Andrew Gray

Coding for PHP5 in PHP4

With PHP5 Beta 1, the new version of PHP is becoming more andmore a reality you should start preparing for now. Peter Mouldingshows you how you can modify your existing PHP4 coding practices sothat, when PHP5 finally becomes available, you won’t be caughtunawares.—by Peter Moulding

Flash Remoting with AMFPHP

Flash Remoting is atechnique that allows for the extension of Flash MX applications byproviding server-based functionality. It allows the developer toenhance a Flash MX client applet by taking advantage of code thatruns on the web server. Seth Wilson shows us how the functionalityprovided of PHP can be leveraged in a Flash Remoting environment toprovide a reacher user experience.—by Seth Wilson

On MySQL and PHP

This month, we chat a bit with Zak Greant, MySQL AB’sCommunity Advocate. In this exciting interview, Zak givesphp|architect readers answers on the recent de-bundling of theMySQL library from PHP5 Beta 1, and helps us understand how changesin the MySQL licensing policies will affect the PHP community inthe future.—by Marco Tabini