In this book, PHP 5's co-creator and two leading PHPdevelopers show you how to make the most of PHP 5's industrial-strengthenhancements in any project — no matterhow large or complex. Their unique insights and realistic examples illuminatePHP 5's new object model, powerful design patterns, improved XML Web servicessupport, and much more. Whether you're creating Web applications, extensions,packages, or shell scripts — or migrating PHP 4 code — here are high-poweredsolutions you won't find anywhere else.

* Review PHP's syntax and master its object-oriented capabilities — from properties and methods to polymorphism, interfaces, and reflection
* Master the four most important design patterns for PHPdevelopment
* Write powerful Web applications: handle input, cookies, sessionextension, and more
* Integrate with MySQL, SQLite, and other database engines
* Provide efficient error handling that's transparent to your users
* Leverage PHP 5's improved XML support — including parsing, XSLTconversions, and more
* Build XML-based Web services with XML-RPC and SOAP
* Make the most of PEAR: work with the repository, use keypackages, and create your own
* Upgrade PHP 4 code to PHP 5 — compatibility issues, techniques,and practical workarounds
* Improve script performance: tips and tools for PHP optimization
* Use PHP extensions to handle files/streams, regular expressions,dates/times, and graphics
* Create original extensions and shell scripts

If you're a software developer new to PHP, you'll leapquickly into PHP and its new object-oriented capabilities. If you're anexperienced PHP programmer, you already recognize PHP's convenience andsimplicity. Now, discover all of its extraordinary power!