PHP Roadmap – From Basics to Building Dynamic Web Applications

A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering PHP for Web Development and Backend Programming

Basic overview

What is PHP?

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Why Learn PHP?

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Estimated time commitment for the roadmap.

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Phases of the PHP Roadmap

Phase 1: Introduction to PHP

What is PHP?

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Use Cases of PHP

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Setting up Local Development Environment (XAMPP, MAMP, WAMP)

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Running First PHP Script

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Phase 2: PHP Basics

PHP Syntax and Structure

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Variables and Data Types

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Operators (Arithmetic, Comparison, Logical)

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Constants

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Comments

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Phase 3: Control Structures

If, Else, ElseIf Statements

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Switch Statements

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Loops (For, While, Do-While, Foreach)

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Break and Continue

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Phase 4: Functions in PHP

Defining and Calling Functions

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Function Parameters and Return Types

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Variable Scope

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Built-in vs User-Defined Functions

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Phase 5: Arrays and Strings

Indexed and Associative Arrays

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Array Functions (array_merge, array_push, etc.)

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Multidimensional Arrays

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String Functions (strlen, str_replace, substr, etc.)

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Phase 6: Forms and User Input

Handling Form Submission with $_GET and $_POST

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Data Validation and Sanitization

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Preventing XSS and SQL Injection

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Phase 7: File Handling

Reading and Writing Files

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File Uploads and Validations

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Working with Directories

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Phase 8: Object-Oriented Programming in PHP

Classes and Objects

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Properties and Methods

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Constructors and Destructors

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Inheritance

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Interfaces and Traits

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Namespaces

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Phase 9: Working with MySQL Database

Connecting PHP to MySQL (MySQLi and PDO)

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Performing CRUD Operations

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Prepared Statements

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Error Handling

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Phase 10: Sessions and Cookies

Managing User Sessions

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Setting and Retrieving Cookies

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User Authentication with PHP

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Phase 11: PHP with HTML, CSS & JS

Embedding PHP in HTML

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Sending Data to JavaScript

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Using PHP to Render Dynamic UI

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Phase 12: PHP Security

SQL Injection Prevention

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Password Hashing (bcrypt, password_hash)

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HTTPS and SSL

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Secure File Uploads

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Phase 13: PHP Frameworks (Intro)

Introduction to Laravel, CodeIgniter, Symfony

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MVC Architecture Basics

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When and Why to Use a Framework

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Phase 14: APIs and JSON in PHP

Creating REST APIs with PHP

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Consuming APIs

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Handling JSON Data

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Phase 15: PHP Tools and Deployment

Composer (PHP Package Manager)

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Debugging with Xdebug

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Using phpMyAdmin

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Deploying PHP Projects (Shared Hosting, cPanel, or Cloud)

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Phase 16: Project Ideas & Practice

To-Do List App

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Blog CMS

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User Login System

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Simple E-commerce Backend

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RESTful API with Authentication

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