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Unit 1 of 1 · BCA Sem 3

Unit 1: PHP application development

Web Programming-I Laboratory notes · PTU syllabus (UGDSE302)

3 min read4 topics8 exam questions
On this page
  1. Unit summary
  2. Setting up the environment
  3. Forms, files and sessions
  4. MySQL registration and displaying records
  5. Mini project, Git and deployment
  6. Key terms
  7. Quick revision
  8. Important questions

Unit summary

This lab builds working PHP applications step by step — form handling, loops and conditions, a feedback form, a file-backed contact form, a session login, MySQL registration, displaying records in tables, and a deployed mini project — using XAMPP/WAMP/LAMP, phpMyAdmin and Git.

After this unit you can

  • Set up a local server and database with XAMPP and phpMyAdmin
  • Build forms that store data in files and MySQL
  • Implement a session-based login system
  • Build, version and deploy a mini project

PTU syllabus topics

  • PHP scripts for form input
  • conditions and loops
  • GET/POST feedback forms
  • text-file-backed contact forms
  • session-based login system
  • MySQL-backed user registration
  • mini project (blog system, inventory manager or task tracker)
  • deployment on a local server or free hosting platform
  • displaying database data in table format using PHP
  • using XAMPP/WAMP/LAMP
  • phpMyAdmin and Git/GitHub basics
ProcessBuilding a login system
  1. 1Registration form

    Collect and validate input

  2. 2Store user

    Insert into MySQL with a hashed password

  3. 3Login form

    Check credentials

  4. 4Start session

    Remember the logged-in user

  5. 5Logout

    Destroy the session

1

Topic 1

Setting up the environment

ProcessLocal PHP setup
  1. 1Install XAMPP

    Apache + MySQL + PHP

  2. 2Start Apache and MySQL
  3. 3Put files in htdocs

    C:/xampp/htdocs/project

  4. 4Open localhost/project in the browser
  5. 5Create the database in phpMyAdmin

    localhost/phpmyadmin

2

Topic 2

Forms, files and sessions

  • GET/POST feedback form: read with $_POST, validate, and display a thank-you message.
  • Contact form saved to a text file: file_put_contents("contacts.txt", "$name,$email\n", FILE_APPEND);
  • Session login:
php<?php
session_start();
if ($_POST["user"] === "admin" && password_verify($_POST["pwd"], $hash)) {
    $_SESSION["user"] = "admin";
    header("Location: dashboard.php");
} else {
    echo "Invalid login";
}
?>

Protect each private page with if (!isset($_SESSION["user"])) header("Location: login.php");

3

Topic 3

MySQL registration and displaying records

php<?php
$conn = new mysqli("localhost", "root", "", "college");
$res = $conn->query("SELECT roll, name, course FROM student");
echo "<table border='1'><tr><th>Roll</th><th>Name</th><th>Course</th></tr>";
while ($row = $res->fetch_assoc()) {
    echo "<tr><td>{$row['roll']}</td><td>{$row['name']}</td><td>{$row['course']}</td></tr>";
}
echo "</table>";
?>

Store passwords with password_hash(), never as plain text.

4

Topic 4

Mini project, Git and deployment

Choose a blog system, inventory manager or task tracker with CRUD features, login and a clean layout.

  • Git basics: git init, git add ., git commit -m "message", git push to GitHub.
  • Deployment: upload files and the exported database to free hosting (for example InfinityFree) or demonstrate on localhost.

Exam tip

Viva favourites: "What is the difference between include and require?" (require stops on error), "Why hash passwords?", and "How do sessions work?"

Key terms

XAMPP
A package with Apache, MySQL and PHP for local development
phpMyAdmin
A web tool for managing MySQL databases
password_hash
Securely hashes a password
Git
A version control system tracking code changes

Quick revision

  • Files go in htdocs; open via localhost.
  • FILE_APPEND adds to a file without overwriting.
  • Check $_SESSION on every protected page.
  • Hash passwords; use prepared statements.

Important exam questions

Practice questions written to the PTU exam pattern for this unit's syllabus: short answers (Section A style) and long answers (Sections B and C style).

Short-answer questions

  1. Q1.What is XAMPP?
  2. Q2.How do you protect a page so only logged-in users can see it?
  3. Q3.Why should passwords be hashed?
  4. Q4.What does fetch_assoc() return?
  5. Q5.Name three basic Git commands.

Long-answer questions

  1. Q1.Build a session-based login system in PHP and explain each step.
  2. Q2.Create a student registration form that stores data in MySQL and displays all records in a table.
  3. Q3.Describe the mini project you built, its features and how it was deployed.

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