PHP Learning Journey — 45 Days of Core PHP & MySQL

A free, beginner-friendly PHP course: 20+ hands-on lessons from "Hello World" to secure login systems and MySQL CRUD — no frameworks, just core PHP.

⭐ If these lessons help you learn or teach PHP, please star the repo — it helps other beginners find it.

Jump to: Lessons · Quick start · Guides · Full 45-day plan · Contributing

Who this is for

• Beginners who know basic HTML and want to learn backend development
• Teachers looking for a ready-made, day-by-day PHP curriculum
• Developers who want to understand core PHP before jumping into Laravel

Every lesson folder has its own README.md explaining the concept, plus runnable example files.

Quick start

git clone https://github.com/kirangautam45/core-php.git
cd core-php/01-hello-world
php -S localhost:8000

Open http://localhost:8000 in your browser. For the database lessons (Day 16+), follow MYSQL_SETUP.md first.

Guides

Guide	What it covers
php-learning-plan.md	The full 45-day plan with daily topics
MYSQL_SETUP.md	Installing and configuring MySQL
DATABASE_SETUP.md	Creating the databases used in the lessons
SQL_BEGINNERS_GUIDE.md	SQL basics for beginners: databases, tables and CRUD queries
GIT-GUIDE.md	Everyday Git commands: setup, commits, branches
code-review-template.md	Code review assessment for grading student projects

Progress Tracker

Completed Days

• ✅ 01 - Hello World
• ✅ 02 - Variables & Data Types
• ✅ 03 - Operators & Conditionals
• ✅ 04 - Loops
• ✅ 05 - Arrays
• ✅ 06 - Functions
• ✅ 07 - Built-in Functions
• ✅ 08 - Forms & GET/POST
• ✅ 09 - Form Validation
• ✅ 10 - Form Project
• ✅ 11 - File Handling
• ✅ 12 - File Upload
• ✅ 13 - Sessions & Cookies
• ✅ 14 - Password Hashing
• ⬜ 15 - Login System (Student Task)
• ✅ 16 - Database Basics
• ✅ 17 - SQL CRUD
• ✅ 18 - PHP-MySQL Connection
• ✅ 19 - Insert Data
• ✅ 20 - Fetch Data

Learning Plan Structure

Phase	Days	Topics
Phase 1	1-10	PHP Fundamentals
Phase 2	11-15	Files & Sessions
Phase 3	16-25	MySQL + PHP
Phase 4	26-40	CRUD Project (Notes App)
Phase 5	41-45	Best Practices & Next Steps

Phase Breakdown

Phase 1: PHP Fundamentals (Day 1-10)

• PHP syntax, variables, data types
• Operators and control structures
• Loops and arrays
• Functions (user-defined & built-in)
• Forms, $_GET, $_POST
• Form validation & sanitization

Phase 2: Working with Files & Sessions (Day 11-15)

• File handling (fopen, fwrite, fread)
• File uploads with validation
• Sessions & cookies
• Password hashing (password_hash, password_verify)

Phase 3: MySQL + PHP (Day 16-25)

• Database fundamentals
• SQL basics (CRUD operations)
• PHP-MySQL connection (mysqli/PDO)
• Prepared statements (SQL injection prevention)
• Pagination & search

Phase 4: CRUD Project - Simple Notes App (Day 26-40)

A beginner-friendly notes application demonstrating:

• User authentication (Register, Login, Logout)
• Full CRUD functionality
• Pin & archive notes
• Search & filter by category
• Color-coded notes
• Responsive design
• Security best practices

Tech Stack

• Backend: PHP
• Database: MySQL, SQLite
• Database Library: PDO
• Local Server: XAMPP / MAMP
• Frontend: HTML, CSS

Getting Started

1. Install XAMPP or MAMP
2. Clone this repository to your htdocs folder
3. Start Apache and MySQL services
4. Navigate to any lesson folder and run: php -S localhost:8000

Project Structure

corephp/
├── 01-hello-world/
├── 02-variables-datatypes/
├── 03-operators-conditionals/
├── 04-loops/
├── 05-arrays/
├── 06-functions/
├── 07-builtin-functions/
├── 08-forms/
├── 09-form-validation/
├── 10-form-project/
├── 11-file-handling/
├── 12-file-upload/
├── 13-sessions-cookies/
├── 14-password-hashing/
├── 15-login-system/        # Student Task
├── 16-database-basics/
├── 17-sql-crud/
├── 18-php-mysql/
├── 19-insert-data/
├── 20-fetch-data/
├── DATABASE_SETUP.md
├── MYSQL_SETUP.md
├── SQL_BEGINNERS_GUIDE.md
├── php-learning-plan.md
└── README.md

Goals

By the end of this 45-day journey:

• Build PHP web apps confidently
• Create secure CRUD applications
• Understand backend fundamentals
• Be prepared for Junior PHP / Backend Developer roles

Resources

• PHP Official Documentation
• W3Schools PHP Tutorial
• PHP The Right Way

Contributing

Found a bug in an example, a typo, or have a better exercise idea? Contributions are welcome:

1. Fork the repo and create a branch: git checkout -b fix/day-09-validation
2. Make your change and commit it with a clear message
3. Open a pull request describing what you changed and why

License

Released under the MIT License — free to use, adapt and teach from. Attribution is appreciated.

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Made with ❤️ by Kiran Gautam · kirangtm.com.np
⭐ Star the repo if you found it useful!