PHP Cheat Sheet

PHP programming language reference — syntax, variables, arrays, functions, OOP, database connections, and essential PHP patterns for web development.

Last Updated: July 15, 2025

Syntax Basics

ElementSyntax
PHP Tags<?php ... ?>
Variables$name = "value";
Constantsdefine("NAME", "value");
Concatenation$full = $first . " " . $last;
String Interpolation"Hello, $name"

Arrays

TypeExample
Indexed$arr = [1, 2, 3];
Associative$arr = ["key" => "value"];
Multidimensional$arr = [["a", "b"], ["c", "d"]];
Array functionscount(), array_push(), array_merge(), array_filter()

Functions & OOP

FeatureSyntax
Functionfunction greet($name) { return "Hi $name"; }
Classclass User { public $name; function __construct($n) {$this->name = $n;} }
Inheritanceclass Admin extends User { }

MySQL Connection (PDO)

$pdo = new PDO("mysql:host=localhost;dbname=test", $user, $pass);
Connect with PDO — use prepared statements
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = ?");
Prepared statement prevents SQL injection
$stmt->execute([$id]); $row = $stmt->fetch();
Execute with bound parameters
Pro Tip: Always use PDO with prepared statements — never concatenate user input into SQL queries. mysqli_real_escape_string() is NOT enough. PDO prepared statements are the only safe way.
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