Social Network PHP Project

A polished PHP web application that demonstrates core social networking functionality, including secure login, profile access, friend management, and user discovery. This project is a strong example of beginner-friendly full-stack development using PHP, MySQL, and session-based authentication.

Project Highlights

• Clean login experience with form validation
• Session-based authentication for protected pages
• User profile display with personal information
• Friend management features such as add and remove actions
• Simple, responsive interface built with plain PHP and HTML

Tech Stack

• PHP
• MySQL
• PDO
• XAMPP
• HTML/CSS (basic structure)

Project Structure

• login.php — handles user authentication and login flow
• register.php — allows new users to create an account
• social_network.php — displays the dashboard, profile, friends, and user suggestions
• config.php — central database configuration for the application

Prerequisites

• XAMPP installed and running
• Apache and MySQL enabled
• A local MySQL database named SocialNetwork

Setup Instructions

1. Install and start XAMPP

• Install XAMPP if it is not already installed.
• Open the XAMPP Control Panel.
• Start Apache and MySQL.

2. Place the project in the correct folder

• Copy or move this project into your XAMPP web root folder:
  • /Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/
• The project folder should be accessible as:
  • http://localhost/project5/

3. Create the database

• Open phpMyAdmin in your browser:
  • http://localhost/phpmyadmin
• Click New.
• Create a database named SocialNetwork.
• Select the database and create the required tables.

4. Create the users table

CREATE TABLE users (
  username VARCHAR(10) PRIMARY KEY,
  fullname VARCHAR(100),
  email VARCHAR(100),
  password VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL
);

5. Create the friends table

CREATE TABLE friends (
  user VARCHAR(10),
  friend VARCHAR(10),
  PRIMARY KEY (user, friend)
);

6. Create your first account

You can create an account through the app by visiting:

• http://localhost/project5/register.php

Choose a strong password that is:

• at least 8 characters long
• unique
• not reused from another website
• not a common weak password

If you prefer to add a user directly in the database, use this SQL:

INSERT INTO users (username, fullname, email, password)
VALUES ('admin', 'Admin User', 'admin@example.com', '$2y$10$8QK0uW8G1hVJqYd2l0hJ8eYh6D8iKQ8Y7Q1k3r4f8U7t3wY7ZlJ6');

7. Run the project

Open your browser and go to:

• http://localhost/project5/login.php

Notes

• The current project uses a local MySQL connection through XAMPP.
• If you change the database name, username, or password in the PHP files, make sure the connection details match your local setup.