Introducing PHP and MySQL

 

In Book VI, you dig into the code necessary to create functions and
features on your Web site. Many, if not all, of these functions and fea-

 

tures use Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) tags. When combined with the

WordPress code, these tags make things happen (such as displaying post content, categories, archives, links, and more) on your Web site.

One of the reasons WordPress is the most popular content management
system (CMS) is that you don’t need to know PHP code to use it. That’s to
say, you can use WordPress easily without ever looking at any of the code
or template files contained within it. However, if you want to tweak the set-
tings of your WordPress theme (flip to Book VI) or the code of a particular
plugin (see Book VII), you need to understand some basics of how PHP

works. But don’t worry; you don’t need to be a PHP programmer.

 

This chapter introduces you to the very basics of PHP and MySQL, which is
the database system that stores your WordPress data. After you read this
chapter, you’ll understand how PHP and MySQL work together with the
WordPress platform to serve up your Web site in visitors’ browsers.

 

This book doesn’t turn you into a PHP programmer or MySQL database

administrator, but it gives you a glimpse of how PHP and MySQL work

together to help WordPress build your Web site. If you’re interested in finding out how to program PHP or become a MySQL database administrator, check out PHP and MySQL For Dummies by Janet Valade (Wiley).