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Here is how to get started trading options for beginners

Remember that all other brokerage services charge you when you open your trade and also charge you when you close out your position. That's $10 for just one round trip--a $5 for opening position and a $5 for closing position. That's a lot of $5(s) and $10(s) to waste.

Please check the following out:

Another very good brokerage house that has zero commissions, zero options contract fees, zero deposit minimum. Please check the following out:

• Individual (Individual, Joint, and Retirement Account). This is a regular account for individual single person, married joint account, or a retirement account such as for an investment club.


• Individual (Trust and UGMA/UTMA). This is an account for a trust or for accounts setup for your minors for their retirement investment account.


• IRA (Individual Retirement Account). This is an account setup for an IRA/401k retirement account.


• Single Fund. This is an account setup as a managed fund such as an investment fund, a hedge fund or a mutual fund that has only one type of fund under management, e.g., a long term growth fund.


• Multiple Funds. This is an account setup as a multiple managed fund such as an investment fund, a hedge fund or a mutual fund that has multiple types of fund under management, e.g., a value fund, an aggressive fund, a long term growth fund, a bond fund, an emerging fund, etc.


• Financial Advisor. This is an account type for individuals or companies setup to offer and manage investment for their clients.


• Institution (Partnership, Corporation, Limited Liability Corporation, and Unincorporated Business). This is an account type for institutions such as endowment, schools/churches/non-profit organizations retirement funds, individuals formed as a partnership, a corporation setup to manage their own investment and/or their clients' investment. Also, an account for an investment club can signup for institution account as well.

• Level 1: Is for beginners who have no experience in options trading.
  
  Level 1 allows you to trade:
  • Covered calls. Covered calls sold against stocks held long in your brokerage account.
    
    • Buy-writes (simultaneously buying a stock and writing a covered call).
    
    
    • Covered call roll-ups/roll-downs.
  • Cash Secured Puts. Covered Puts sold against funds held in your brokerage account.
  
  This is for you beginners who had no idea what an option was before reading my tutorials. Well, even after reading my tutorials, consider yourself as a beginner and signup for level 1. In this level you are allowed to buy/sell stocks and trade two types of options: covered call and cash-secured put. For most of you, level 1 is enough for a while.
  
  Once you have demonstrated that you know how to trade covered calls and cash-secured puts and also show an increased in your account balance because of your trades were successful, and then you can apply for an upgrade to the next trading level, which is level 2.
  
  Again, in level 2, you have to demonstrate that you know how to trade vertical legs strategies before you are granted to the next level, which is level 3.


• Level 2: Is for intermediate level or people who have some experience in options trading--for people who know how to trade vertical legs strategies.
  
  Level 2 includes all Level 1 strategies, plus:
  
  
  • Married puts or Married puts here!
  
  
  • Long calls
  
  
  • Long puts
  
  
  • Long straddles
  
  
  • Long strangles
  
  
  • Covered puts (short stock and short put position) or Covered puts here!
  
  
• Level 3: Intermediate to advanced strategies for people who know how to trade credit spreads and other multiple legs strategies. Check out the tutorials on options spreads: Option Spread Strategies. Level 3 includes all Levels 1 and 2 strategies, plus:
  
  
  • Equity debit spreads (commonly called debit spreads).
  
  
  • Equity credit spreads (commonly called credit spreads).
  
  
  • Equity calendar/diagonal spreads
  
  
  • Index debit spreads (commonly called debit spreads but using index instead of individual stocks).
  
  
  • Index credit spreads (commonly called credit spreads but using index instead of individual stocks).
  
  
  • Index calendar/diagonal spreads


• Level 4: Advanced strategies for people who know how to trade credit spreads and other multiple legs strategies--options traders who have lots of experience in options trading.

Level 4 includes all Level 1, 2, and 3 strategies, plus:


• Naked equity puts


• Level 5: Advanced strategies for people who have lots of experience in options trading and trade millions and billions of dollars per year. Level 5 is very strict to qualify to get in and requires large sum of money to open an account. It is usually reserved for sophisticated professional and institutional traders. Levels higher than 3 is for specialized traders.

Level 5 includes all Level 1, 2, 3, and 4 strategies, plus:


• Naked equity calls


• Level 6: Advanced strategies for people who have lots of experience in options trading and trade millions and billions of dollars per year. Level 6 is very strict to qualify to get in and requires large sum of money to open an account. It is usually reserved for sophisticated professional and institutional traders. Levels higher than 3 is for specialized traders.

Level 6 includes all Level 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 strategies, plus:


• Naked index calls


• Naked index puts


• To apply for the upgrade steps, say level 2, 3, etc, you would contact your brokerage service and tell them you want to upgrade your account level. In most brokerage services, there is a button in your account dashboard that you can press to send your request and a notification of your approval/disapproval will be sent to you via email.

Introduction to IPO

Article Date: August 9, 2014
By Paul S. Tuon

• Sole Proprietorships
  
  
• Partnerships
  
  
• Trusts and Estates
  
  
• S Corporations
  
  
• C Corporations
  

The total of all those shares (or in the previous example, 400,000,000) is called shares outstanding. All those shares outstanding is called a stock, hence answering the question posed earlier 'what is a stock?'

Notice that a company can have many stocks: common stock, preferred stock and warrants, and each of the three types of stocks can contain classes of their own, such as common stock class A, B, C, etc., Preferred stock class A, B, C, etc.; and each class in those three types of stocks is also called a stock.

Now the answer to the question: 'what is a stock?' is now much clearer.

Of the three types of stocks, common stock shares have the least rights and privileges and preferred stock shares have the highest rights and privileges and its classes shares generally have preferrential treatment over all common stock classes shares and also have preferrential treatment over all warrant shares of a stock as well. warrant shares generally have rights and privileges somewhere between common stock shares and preferred stock shares.

IPO Journey

Conclusion: Was Twitter a Success for its IPO?

• Two days before the IPO, Facebook changed its mind about M (the number of shares it would offer). Though the mathematics is simple, this meant that all the major players who had planned on purchasing shares on IPO day had to recompute everything and update their plans.


• Many of the initial institutional investors reported in the days before IPO day that they intended to sell some of the shares they would receive. Remember that a lot of these so called institutional investors are people just like you and I who look to make money in the stock market. Except you and I don't get the privilege to obtain IPO shares at no cost and sell at the IPO debut trading to make quick bucks. In other words, a lot of these so called institutional investors are opportunistic dealers who seek to make quick bucks using their privilege and well-connected status.


• Facebook's initial offering price was much closer to the expected market price than Twitter's; as a result, the initial institutional investors in Facebook stood to gain much less on IPO day than the institutional investors in Twitter.


• The period of price discovery took exceptionally long (trading opened at 11:30am) and the process was marred by technical difficulties before and after the start of trading: orders did not come through, and investors were confused about whether or not their orders had been executed or even received.


• Extremely high volume (because of unprecedented excitement about Facebook) overwhelmed the NASDAQ servers, exacerbating the technical difficulties.


• The excitement was not only unprecedented, but also excessive: many retail investors wanted to purchase shares of Facebook because they were convinced it was the next big thing (for many young people, purchasing Facebook shares was their first foray into the financial markets), but the reality was that the prices at which it was trading were ridiculously high compared to its profitability. When "virgin" retail investors (who had been promised that the stock price might increase by as much as 50 percent on IPO day) saw prices dropping, they grew anxious and sold their positions, exacerbating the selloff.

Google's IPO

Snap is Going Public

• Net revenue: $404.48 million in 2016, up from $58.66 million in 2015. That means the ephemeral messaging service grew revenue almost seven times in a year -- but its losses outstripped its revenue


• Net loss: $514.64 million in 2016, wider than $372.89 million in 2015


• Loss from operations: $520.39 million in 2016, wider than $381.73 million in 2015


• Usage: 161 million daily active users in the December quarter (60 million daily active users in the United States and Canada)


• Average revenue per user: $1.05 in the December quarter ($2.15 in North America)


• Time spent: 25 to 30 minutes a day


• Head count: 1,859 employees

Snap Initial Public Offering Procession

• Snap closed at $24.48, up $7.48 or 44% from its offer price of $17. It's first day pop was bigger than Alibaba's, Facebook's and Google's, but smaller than LinkedIn's, Twitter's and Yelp's.
  
  
• It opened at $24, up 7.00 or 41.2% at 11:19 AM.
  
  
• Snap was the most actively traded US stock today, with more than 215 million shares changing hands today.
  
  
• At its high today, it was up $9.05 or 53.2%, to $26.05.
  
  
• Best first day pop for a U.S.-listed IPO that raised at least $1 billion since LendingClub's December 2014 IPO (LendingClub rose 56% the day it went public.)
  
  
• At the close, its market cap is $28.33 billion based on the 1.157 billion shares count in the SEC S1 filing.
  
  
• Snap's market value increased by nearly $9 billion on its first day of trading.

What is an option?

• Option 1 (ticker: T100918C00015000): Gives you the right to buy XYZ stock at $15 a share. option premium: $7.50 (the asking price. See the options chain above).
  
  
• Option 2 (ticker: T100918C00025000): Gives you the right to buy XYZ stock at $25 a share. option premium: $3.50 (Ask column. See the options chain above).

A Trading Strategy: Selling "Put" Options

• First, sell one October 19, 2018 put option with a strike price of $67.50 for $2.50 a share in premium. Since each put contract controls 100 shares, you'll be collecting $250 (100 x $2.50). Your account will show you've sold one put contract and immediately your cash balance is higher by $250.
  
  For some investors, this is called naked put, which doesn't require you to have enough money to pay for the total price of the stock because their broker allows them to buy on margin. This is for people who have some experience trading options. However, for this tutorial, I am aiming for the non-experience options traders, i.e., long term investors who don't trade options for a living.
  
  So in your case, you would buy a cash-secured put, which requires you to have enough money in your account to cover the transaction. No big deal! Because your intention is to invest for the long haul and part of investing for the long term is to come up with the money to buy the stock outright. But in this case, you're not buying the stock outright -- well, not at the moment of your trading. Eventually, you'll have to buy the stock outright when the buyer of your cash-secured put decides to exercise his/her option from you. That's why you have to have enough money in your account to trade this option.

A typical stocks/options order entry screen interface platform for entering orders looks something like this:



Notice that the various key items in the screen interface maybe arranged in different order and location for different brokerage services interface, but all the items should be there.


• In technical term, you would in your brokerage account web interface select the type of trades you want to trade: stocks or options. In this case, you want to trade options and you select 'options' from the panel and the interface displays the options pane for you to trade.
  
  Next, select the symbol of the stock (XOM), select the expiration date (October 19, 2018), select the type of trade (in this case, a "Put"), select the "Sell to Open" (you're opening a position as a seller to sell the option), select the quantity of the option [1 for one contract], select the strike price (in this case $67.50) of the option you want to sell and immediately the premium for that strike price is automatically calculated by the brokerage system and appeared instantly (in this case $2.50).
  
  Next, click on "Preview" to see your order and if it's what you entered, click "Send" or "Order," depending your interface.
  
  Congratulation! Now you're an expert on how to trade options -- well, a put option.


• And that is it! Very simple!
  
  This is called cash-secured put or covered put -- you're securing the trade with your money deposited in your account ready to buy the stock as soon as the buyer of your put option decides to excerise the option.
  
  Meanwhile, you don't have to do anything but only wait for the expiration date to arrive. You can also work on your next cash-secured put trade because at any time from now until expiration, your outstanding cash-secured put option may get exercised. Once it does, you can pull the trigger on your next trade.
  
  
• As of now, your trade is on, now you just need to wait for Exxon Mobil's stock to approach $67.50.
  
  But hold on, as expiration approaches, some interesting scenarios can play out.
  
  If October expiration passes and Exxon Mobil's is still trading at around $75 a share, you're sitting pretty. The put option you sold expires worthless (to the buyer) and you get to keep the $250 premium as pure profit. That's a 4% yield on the cash you were holding to buy the stock (which is $6750 = 100 x $67.50.) Again, you have to have at least $6750 in your account. In addition, if you did this every four months, that would be a 12% annual yield.
  
  Let's face it... you're certainly not going to earn 12% interest from your bank right now.



• Now you can sell another put option on Exxon Mobil's and collect more premium. And you can continue to capitalize as long as your put options keep expiring worthless.

• Step 1: Find a Stock You Want to Own.
  
  The first step to take when looking to buy stocks by selling puts is to find a stock that you would like to own. After all, in the end when you employ this strategy, you are hoping to own the stock as a part of your portfolio. And since you wouldn't just go out and buy any old stock in a standard stock trade, you shouldn't just settle for any old stock when implementing this strategy. This may seem obvious, but when we get into the next step, you will see that if you don't start with Step 1, it is easy to be tempted to simply sell puts on the stocks that are offering the highest premium-which can be a big mistake.
  
  When you're looking for stocks you would like to own, make sure you look for stocks with strong fundamentals -- especially in turbulent markets because they have a good chance of rebounding faster than other stocks.


• Step 2: Sell Put Options
  
  Your next step to buying stocks at a discount is identifying which put option you are going to sell and then selling it. As an option seller, you have three choices when looking at which put option to sell. You can sell the at-the-money option (ATM), an out-of-the money option (OTM) or an in-the-money option (ITM). When selling puts to buy stocks, you are typically going to use an at-the-money put option. At-the-money options offer a nice balance between paying a good premium and giving you a good chance of actually having the stock put to you.
  
  The premium you receive for selling the put option directly impacts the discount you will get on your stock purchase if the stock is put to you. The higher the premium, the better the discount. As I mentioned above, some stocks offer extremely high premiums on their put options either because the stocks are extremely volatile or everybody believes the stock is going to be moving lower. If you haven't done your homework and determined that the stock is one you would want to own, you may be tempted to go for the stock with the highest premium. Don't fall into that trap and always do your homework!
  
  
• Step 3: Manage Your Trade.
  
  Once you have sold your put option, it is time to sit back and see what happens to the price of the stock. Basically, one of the following four things can happen to the price of the stock:
  
  
  • The stock price can go up a lot
  • The stock price can go up a little
  • The stock price can go down a little
  • The stock price can down a lot

What is a covered call option?

Update: October 27, 2020. Nivdia stock: $536/share.

The stock is now at $536/share (yeh!!!), surpassing my 5-year target of $320 per share. Better yet, this company is growing rapidly in a 'breakneck' speed through in-house inovations and outside acquistions. So the future is very bright. The management is very smart in using their 'skyrocket' high stock price to buy these valuable companies without denting their cash on-hand. That's what you can do when your company's stock is as high as NVIDIA is - it gives you leverage and power to do things that otherwise would not be possible.

Nvidia reminds me of Amazon just a few years ago when Amazon stock was already trading around $500 per share and the stock was moving up steadily ever since [February 26, 2016 at $555 per share; October 27, 2017 at $1,100 per share; May 11, 2018 at $1,603 per share; November 11, 2019 at $1739 per share; March 27, 2020 at $1,900 per share; May 29, 2020 at $2442 per share; September 4, 2020 at $3294 per share].

Let me clarify my view on this comparison: Nvidia is not Amazon nor will it perform like Amazon stock in the future. It will never be anything near what Amazon has done -- no stock is nor will be. However, the strategy that Nvidia employs recently resemblances the strategy that Amazon employed leading up to their current high performances of its stock.

The purchase of ARM is a very smart move by Nvidia's management and it will do a lot of good for the future of this company. Will its stock performs like Amazon's stock in the future? We'll see! And time will tell!

Here is the synopsis from the press release:

• Unites NVIDIA's leadership in artificial intelligence with Arm's vast computing ecosystem to drive innovation for all customers




• NVIDIA will expand Arm's R&D presence in Cambridge, UK, by establishing a world-class AI research and education center, and building an Arm/NVIDIA-powered AI supercomputer for groundbreaking research




• NVIDIA will continue Arm's open-licensing model and customer neutrality and expand Arm's IP licensing portfolio with NVIDIA technology




• Immediately accretive to NVIDIA's non-GAAP gross margin and EPS




• Consideration of $40 billion to be met through a combination of NVIDIA shares and cash

Please see

• Record revenue from Datacenter, Professional Visualization, Automotive platforms


• Quarterly cash dividend raised 7 percent to $0.16 per share


• Company intends to return an additional $3 billion to shareholders through fiscal 2020

Here is my definition of "dollar cost average":

"Stocks rarely go up in a straight line."

Just remember that definition when you think of a dollar cost average.

Because of the nature of stocks, which rarely go up in a straight line, it makes a great strategy for a long term investment.

Goldman said it remains "Buy-rated on the stock as our view that Nvidia has access to
one of the best growth opportunity sets in Semis and that it has a sustainable
competitive lead within remains unchanged."
   

"The stock will likely not bounce back right away,
given the severity of the miss," Morgan Stanley said.
   

Wells Fargo Analyst:

Concerns (and now frustration) over a significant gaming channel inventory burn-off
have materialized ... While we can appreciate that NVIDIA's weak F4Q19 outlook is
impacted by a 1-2 quarter work-down of Pascal mid-range gaming card inventory in the
channel ($600M; assuming no sell-in in F4Q19 as crypto-related dynamics flush through
the channel), couple with a seasonal decline in game console builds, we think
investors will be frustrated by NVIDIA's comments exiting F2Q19 that:
"...we [NVIDIA] see inventory at the lower-ends of our stack...inventory is well
positioned for back-to-school and building season that's coming up on F3Q19..."

Bottom Line: Well, even if we model a strong double-digit growth in DCG next year,
we think there is a high likelihood that NVIDIA will not grow next year.
We are modeling for as such.

The large shortfall in guidance due to a bloated channel due to crypto-currency is in
sharp contrast to the comments around channel inventory from the company at the
last earnings call. Our estimates and target price are going lower.
We remain Market Perform rated.

We are Buyers on weakness.
   

SunTrust Analyst:

The surprisingly weak Q4 guide appears temporary.
NVDA guided Q4 20% below consensus revs as the company halts 1/3 of gaming segment sales
to flush channel inventory built during the crypto enthusiasm in 1H18.
This badly damages near-term revenue and profits, but Datacenter, Pro-Viz,
and Automotive results support our structural growth view.
Gaming resets our 2019 & 2020 EPS to $7.33 & $8.70 (from $8.18 & $9.59).
PT goes to $237 (from $316) based on 30x (17x discount to rapid-growth tech peers)
our CY20 EPS, discounted back 1 year. Buy.
   

RBC Analyst:

Going forward, we think the focus will now shift to Data Center as gaming expectations
are now reset due to crypto currencies and a product transition (Turing) which will
unlikely ramp until around the Jul-qtr time frame. Net Net: we lower our price target
due to the lower than expected results (PT to $260 from $310).
Positively, gaming and Pro Visualization will likely be up q/q in January helping gross
margins and offsetting the material gaming weakness.
   

• AbbVie continues to grow its top line and bottom line as management raises guidance into the second half of 2018.


• The share price looks attractive at these levels, and is trading at a discount to fundamental earnings.


• A $10 billion buyback program put to use, combined with annual dividend increases, makes this company easy to hold as it develops its pipeline to supplement Humira sales.

A Brief Overview of Buying Puts and Calls

A Long Term Investment for Kids/Teens

What is a Stop Loss?

What is a Trailing Stop?

Can you set a stop loss on options?

• Since we now know that the next level of significant support is about $12.53 [$327.78 -- $315.25] from the current price we can go ahead and calculate an appropriate stop loss by using the Option Greeks.
  
  NOTE: For those who do not know, the Greeks are nothing more than a couple of metrics/numbers that are used to price and gauge the risk profile an option. Don't be intimidated by them. For our purposes, we are primarily concerned with the Delta. The Delta is basically the rate at which an Option will change based on the change in the stock price and it is usually stated as a percentage.
  
  For instance, if a call option has a .50 Delta it basically means that for every 1.00 move in the price of the stock, the option will rise by .50 (theoretically). This tutorial/guide is not for beginners so I am assuming you already know the basics. If not, you might want to check out a book called Trading Options Greeks which is by far the best book on Options trading.
  
  For most brokerage services interface, you should be able to find this Greek easily by looking around in the options chain. Here is what it looks like for this particular screen interface.

• Now a quick look at the contract profile for the TSLA AUG 350.00 calls reveals that the Delta is currently .35. So this means, in theory, that for every 1.00 move in TSLA, the contract should move by .35 cents. At this point, I have to remind you that time decay will also have an impact on how the option contract responds to movement in the stock price. So be mindful of that. But for this exercise, we will assume that only the Delta is important.


• Now that we know that the Delta is .35 and we know that the next support level is at $315.25 we can do some calculations and get closer to an appropriate stop loss level for our trade. So, since we have decided that we want to get out of the trade on a break below the $315.25 level, we are basically saying we are willing to give up/risk $12.53 [$327.78 - $315.25] (or 3.81%) per share on the trade. With a delta of .35 that would be $4.38 [$12.53 * 0.35] on the AUG 350.00 Contract which is now trading at $9.00. Therefore, the stop loss will be set at $4.62 [$9 - $4.38] initially.

What is a Relative Strength Index?

Foreign Reserve

A foreign reserve is the foreign currency that a country has in its possession or in its bank vault. Remember that a country typically has its own currency, e.g., the United States has the dollar as its own currency, Great Britain has its own currency called the Pound, China has its own currency called the Yuan, Japan has its own currency called the Yen, the 12 European countries: France, Germany, Italy, etc., have their own currency called the Euro dollar.

For the most part, each currency can be used inside its own country only; for example, the Chinese Yuan can be used only inside China, and likewise, the European Euro dollar can be used only inside the 12 European countries and nowhere else.

When people travel to a foreign country, they have to exchange their own country's currency with of that foreign country's currency.

For example, if you go to China, once you arrived at the Chinese airport you need to change your U.S. dollar with the Chinese Yuan so that you can use it to buy things while you're in China. When you go to France (or any one of the 12 European countries that carry the Euro dollar), you need to exchange your U.S. dollar with the Euro dollar so that you can use it to buy things in those countries.

Likewise, when businesses invest or trade with a foreign country, they have to exchange their own country's currency with of that foreign country's currency.

For example, when Walmart Corporation buys Chinese products to sell in their stores in the U.S., they need to exchange their U.S. dollar with the Chinese Yuan so that they can use the Chinese Yuan to buy those Chinese products because the Chinese government barred the use of foreign currencies inside China.

Most countries do this as well, e.g., you can't use the Euro dollar to buy things in the United States either.

This exchanging of currencies is called the foreign exchange market.

Trades are the main source of the foreign exchange market (i.e., Walmart buying Chinese goods), causing each country's currency to fluctuate (or rise/fall in value) according to the supply and demand of the currency.

For example, the U.S. dollar is typically in high demand by traders all over the world and therefore it is more valuable than other currencies.

Keep the supply/demand principle in mind when you deal with the foreign exchange market, because it is based on the supply and demand of the currencies involved in the trade or exchange.

This trading of currencies in the foreign exchange market is where countries are so worried/abcessed with the concept of foreign reserve--they have to!. Their economy depends on it!

Now we're on to the description of the foreign reserve concept.

I'm little lazy, so I'm going to refer you to some excellent tutorials on the Web, which can explain better than I can.

As you watch the following videos, keep the trading of currencies in the foreign exchange market in mind because it is all about trading of currencies.

Also, don't forget to keep the supply/demand principle in mind as well.

To understand the concept of foreign reserve, you have to at least finished watching the third video in the list below. The first two videos are just the introduction to warm you up for the concept of the foreign reserve. Here are the video tutorials:

introduction

video 2

video 3

video 4

Ex-Dividend Date

1. Record date: the deadline date the company sets on its books for investors to be on to qualify for the dividend.



2. Ex-dividend date: the date the stock exchanges or the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. set to two days prior to the record date set by the company. So the "ex-" (in theory) stands for extra--as in extra or in addition to the company's date.

What is a bond?

• Interest Rate is the percentage rate of Par Value that will be paid in interest to the bondholder on a regular basis. For example, this $1,000 bond would pay 12 3/8%, or $123.75 a year.


• Maturity indicates when the term of the loan expires ("is due") and the bond will be retired ("paid off" in full).


• Par Value is the amount the bondholder will be repaid when the loan is over. Usually, par value is $1,000. A Baby Bond is a bond with a par value of less than $1,000. Governments -- especially federal government -- usually issue Baby Bonds in par value (denominations or units) of $500, $250, $100, and $50.

• Federal governments. The U.S. Federal government always issue bonds to pay for a wide range of federal government activities: defense spending, war costs, catastrophic events (hurricans, floods, eartquakes, etc), infrastructures, federal aid to states, and so forth.


• Federal government agencies. Bonds issued by federal government agencies are indirect obligations of the U.S. government. Some of the most well-known are the U.S. Postal Service, which borrows heavily to fund its operation; FANNIE MAE, FREDDIE MAC, GINNIE MAE, FHA, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.


• Municipal governments. States, cities, counties, and towns issue bonds to pay for a wide range of publicly beneficial projects: schools, roads, sewage systems, other infrastructures (bridges, camp/play ground), stadiums, and so forth.


• Foreign governments. Many foreign governments issue bonds specifically to U.S. investors. Just like U.S. governments, foreign governments also issue bonds to pay for a wide range of publicly beneficial projects and other essential services.


• (U.S. and Foreign) Corporations. For corporations, bonds are a primary way of raising cash to fund its operations. The money raised pays for expansion, modernization, acquisitions, and other expenses.

• Yield. How much you'll earn from interest payments compared to what you could earn from other investments. The higher the yield on your bond the more money you earn, and also the more people wanting to buy your bond from you. Bonds are tradeable securities.
  
  A bond's yield is not the same as its interest rate. The term yield describes what you'll actually earn from a bond, based on a simple calculation. Investors determine bond values largely by comparing yields.
  
  Dividing the amount of money a bond will pay in interest by the price of the bond gives you a bond's yield. For example, if a bond value (or price) is $1,000 that pays 8% annual interest rate for 5 years, so $80 / $1,000, youll receive $80 a year from this bond. It would yield 8% on that bond. In this case, a bond's yield is the same as its interest rate.
  
  If, however, a year later, the bond loses value and it's sold in the secondary market for $800, the new buyer would still receive the $80 a year in interest payments from the bond issuer. Remember that the par value of that bond is still $1,000, but the same bond is sold for only $800 in the secondary market, a difference yield of 2.1% per year.
  
  Now the $200 difference yields a 2.1% per year (200/800)/12. You hold the bond only for 4 years, and therefore, the total percentage return on that is 8.4% (2.1 X 4).
  
  Now that was just the return on the $800 investment principal. What about the interest payments for four years? Don't they get counted as return on investment?
  
  The correct answer is, "Yes, they all get counted as return on investment." So, since the bond was sold for only $800 the yield for interest payment for each of the four year is 10% (80/800). Add the two yields (2.1% + 10%) together and you would get 12.1%. The new buyer would receive a 12.1% return on investment (or yield).
  
  As you can see, a bond's yield is not the same as its interest rate. The interest rate for the bond is 8% while the yield for that bond is 12.1%.
  
  On the other hand, should the bond be sold in the secondary market -- a year later -- for a premium, say $1200, the new buyer would still receive the $80 a year in interest payments from the bond issuer. Remember that the par value of the bond is still $1,000, but the same bond is sold for a premium at $1,200 in the secondary market. This means that when the same bond is due, you will get only $1,000 (not $1,200).
  
  Now the $200 difference yield a negative of 2.1% per year (200/800)/12. Meaning that your return on your investment is 2.1% lower than you would have gotton had the same bond had been sold for the same amount of $1,000 in the secondary market. You hold the bond only for 4 years, and therefore, the total percentage return (or yield) on that $200 is 8.4% lower (-2.1 X 4).
  
  Now that was just the return (or yield) on the $1,200 investment principal. What about the interest payments for four years? Don't they get counted as return on investment?
  
  The correct answer is: yes, they all get counted as return on investment. So, since the bond was sold for $1200 in the secondary market, the yield for interest payment for each of the four year is 6.67% (80/1200). Add the two yields (-2.1% + 6.67%) together and you would get 4.67%. The new buyer would receive a 4.67% return on investment (or yield).
  
  As you can see, a bond's yield is not the same as its interest rate. The interest rate for the bond is 8% while the yield for that bond is only 4.67%.


• Safety. How safe is your bond? In other words, how sure are you that the issuer will repay the loan when it comes due? High safetyness also attracts other investors wanting to buy your bond from you.

Looking to add bonds to your portfolio?

1. Understand the basics of how bonds work. To get yourself up to speed on how bonds work, familarize yourself in my other tutorial called "Introduction to Bonds."


2. Decide which type of bonds to buy. Not all bonds are created equal. In fact, there are several types of bonds you might choose to buy:
   
   • Corporate bonds are those issued by companies to raise money for things like research and capital improvements. The interest you receive from corporate bonds is taxable at both the state and federal level.
   
   
   • Municipal bonds are those issued by cities, states, and other localities to finance public projects and increase public services. The interest you receive from municipal bonds is always tax-exempt at the federal level, and if you buy bonds issued by your home state, you can avoid state and local taxes as well.
   
   
   • Treasury bonds, or T-bonds, are those issued by the U.S. government. The interest you receive from T-bonds is taxable at the federal level, but exempt from state and local taxes.
   
   
   • Convertible bonds are bonds issued by publicly traded corporations. In other words, convertible bonds are bonds that can be converted into publicly traded stocks. Convertible bonds can be a very lucrative investment if you happen to find convertible bonds issued by explosive growth companies, because stocks of growth companies tend to grow explosively along the companies themselves. So make sure you do your due diligence on the companies and its future prospect and don't forget to read the bond's debenture or terms.
   
   
3. Choose an investment horizon or maturity date. While you're not required to hold your bonds to maturity, if the value of your bonds falls after you buy them, you may have no choice but to retain them long term to avoid taking a hit on your principal investment.
   
   That's a big reason why you'll need to put some thought into your ultimate investment horizon. Because bonds come with differing terms (10 versus 20 versus 30 years, for example), setting some investment goals can help you determine how long to potentially lock your money away for.
   
   Remember that you can sell your bonds at any time and you don't have to hold them to maturity, but be aware that the price of your bonds may fluctuate according to market conditions.
   
   
4. Research your investments. You'll often hear people making statements like these: "Bonds are a safe investment, and stocks aren't." But it's rarely that simple.
   
   While bonds are typically less volatile than stocks, choosing the wrong bonds could expose you to more risk than you may have bargained for. That's why it's important to look at bond ratings when choosing a company or municipality to invest in. The higher the rating, the less likely your issuer is to default on its obligations.
   
   On the flip side, bond investors tend to be rewarded for taking on more risk, so if you buy bonds from an issuer with a lower rating, you'll typically snag a higher interest rate.
   
   If you don't want to shoulder the risk of buying individual bonds, you could always invest in a bond fund instead, which gives you instant diversification. Think about it: If you buy bonds from a single issuer and that issuer defaults, you're out of luck. But if you buy a bunch of bonds and a single issuer defaults, you'll continue to make money from the rest of the bonds in that pool.
   
   The downside of bond funds, however, is that your income stream will be less predictable, as you won't get those same steady interest payments that holders of individual bonds collect. One of the reasons is that bond funds are actively managed by fund managers who buy/sell bonds the moment they feel the bonds are in/out of favor.
   
   In other words, like stock fund managers, bond fund managers buy/sell bonds actively and rarely hold their bonds to maturity.
   
   You can also check out the rating agencies such as Moody's Investors Service, Fitch Ratings, Standard and Poor Ratings, and learn their rating classification.
   
   No matter your age, bonds can play a big role in helping you meet your investment goals. Just make sure to weigh the pros or cons of bonds versus other instruments so that your choices align with your ultimate objectives.


5. Just like investing in stocks, you don't need thousands or millions of dollars to invest in bonds. It can be as little as $50 to invest in individual bond. Just like in stock, in which, you have to have a minimum amount of money to buy a share worth of stock, in bonds, you have to have a minimum amount of money to buy a lot or unit worth of bond as well. Bonds are sold by the lot or unit just like stocks are sold by the share.
   
   Corpoate bonds are sold in lot or unit denomination of $1,000, which means that all you have to have is a $1,000 to buy any corporate bond.
   
   Goverment bonds (issued by the U.S. government or by municipalities like cities, states, and other localities) are sold in lot or unit denomination of $50, $100, $1,000, which means that all you have to have is $50 to buy any government bond.
   
   
6. The best place to get your feet wet with bond investing is to signup a trading account with one of the brokerage services. Check out an instruction that I put out called "Get Started Trading Options." Once you have an account, you can trade stocks, bonds, options, mutual funds, etfs, etc.
   
   As always, if you have any question you can ask your brokerage representative on how to invest in bonds or any other investment (for that matter).

What is a yield curve and why is everybody talking about it so much?

• If you invest in equities, you should keep an eye on the bond market.


• If you invest in real estate, you should keep an eye on the bond market.


• If you invest in bonds (or bond ETFs), you should definitely keep an eye on the bond market!

So everything with yield curve has to do with bond yields -- and bond yields have to do with the economics principle supply and demand.

The higher the bond yield, the lower the demand for that bond. Likewise, the lower the bond yield, the higher the demand for that bond.

Say what? The higher the bond yield, the lower the demand for that bond? Does it make any sense?

Take it this way: When you see stores with advertisement that says something like 30% off, 40% off, 50% off, or 60% off, they're telling you that their products are not in high demand and to get rid of those products, they have to lower prices to entice customers to buy them.

Bonds work the same way: When there are lack of demand for the bonds, their yields are typically higher because seller(s) of those bonds will offer bond buyers with higher interest rates to entice bond buyers to buy those bonds; and therefore, making those bonds having higher yields. Make sense?

So the yield curve is the graph that plotted the bond yields. Economists use charts and graphs to interpret the activities of the economy and bond yields is a very important key that drives economic activities.

In the graph illustrated below shows the yield curve for the 10-year bonds, and it is not upward slopping, but rather, it is flattening, which means that the demand for 10-year bonds are in high demand, driving their yields down, hence the flattening of the yield curve. In other words, people are buying more 10-year bonds than they're buying 2-year bonds.

The horizontal line that has number 0 (zero) can be viewed as the benchmark 2-year bond yield (for easier interpretation). It is actually a line representing maturity dates, however. A 10-year bond is plotted against this horizontal zero-line with varying maturity periods.

1. borrow as much money.


2. for as long a period of time.


3. at the lowest interest rate possible to get rich.

Do you ever wanted to know how they calculate indexes?

• pork costs $6.89 per pound. This base-year amount is set to equate to the starting index value of 100.


• fish cost $14.99 per pound. This base-year amount is set to equate to the starting index value of 100.


• bread costs $4.89 per loaf. This base-year amount is set to equate to the starting index value of 100.


• milk costs $5.49 per cart. This base-year amount is set to equate to the starting index value of 100.


• lettuce costs $2.89 per head. This base-year amount is set to equate to the starting index value of 100.

• For pork: (new price / base price of $6.89) * 100 = ?
  
  If new price is $6.99, then the index for pork is 101.45.


• For fish: (new price / base of $14.99) * 100 = ?
  
  If new price is $15.59, then the index for fish is 104.


• For bread: (new price / base of $4.89) * 100 = ?
  
  If new price is $4.99, then the index for bread is 102.50.


• For milk: (new price / base of $5.49) * 100 = ?
  
  If new price is $4.99, then the index for milk is 90.89. Notice that the price of milk has gone down 9.11% from the previous year. This will effect the overall index number.


• For lettuce: (new price / base of $2.89) * 100 = ?
  
  If new price is $2.99, then the index for lettuce is 103.46.

Do you ever wonder how analysts get all the information about a particular publicly traded company?

• The year the company was organized.


• The company's form of organization.


• Principal products produced, the principal markets for the products, and the methods of distribution.


• Number of employees and anticipated material changes in the number of employees in various departments.


• Competitive Conditions.


• Research and Development.

• Asset Purchase Agreements.


• Bridge Loan Agreements.


• Cash Bonus Plans.


• Director Fee Agreements.


• Director Indemnification Plans.


• Employment Agreements.


• Executive Compensation Plans and Incentive Plans.


• Financial Services Agreements.


• Joint Venture Agreements.


• Lease Agreements.


• Letters of Intent.


• License Agreements.


• Pension Plans.


• Profit Sharing Plans.


• Purchase Agreements.


• Stock Option Agreements.


• Stock Purchase Agreements.


• Termination Agreements.

Here is how to get started programming for beginners

If you ever wanted to learn how to program computer programs, particularly learning how to build a website of your own, this tutorial helps you get started and points you in the right direction to achieving your programming goal. This tutorial is not meant to teach you everything about how to program, but rather, a 'get started' guide that guides you in the right direction to help you get started.

For a complete and specific area of programming, such as a particular language you are interested in learning, please check out tutorials on the Web by Googling it. There are lots of free tutorials on the Internet, particularly YouTube.com and the HTML as noted in the following.

A good place to get started is the W3Schools

And here is another good place to get started:

And here is a forum for the above site where you can ask the experts on programming topics:

As listed in the W3Schools mentioned above, you need to start with HTML and CSS first, and then proceed to server-side languages such as PHP and then to the client-side languages such as Javascript, and then you should learn databases as well, such as PDO and MySQL, and then to specialized languages such as jQuery and Ajax, in that order. So the order you should follow is: HTML, CSS, PHP, Javascript, PDO, MySQL, jQuery, Ajax.

If you have time, you should learn DOM as well. For an introductory course on DOM, see chapter 3 to 7 of my Ajax book called Introduction to Ajax.

If you mastered all the languages mentioned above, you should be able to build any sophisticated Web applications easily. After that, if you want to learn other languages as well, then you should learn those languages listed in the W3Schools mentioned above in no particular preferential order guideline.

W3Schools above listed category under Javascript, which includes Node.JS and other excellent server-side languages as well, but you really only need to learn PHP is enough for a while. PHP is the most popular server-side language out there, but Node.JS is getting more popular as it is very good in streaming applications, such as movie shows and other live streaming applications.

However, you can accomplish the same thing using PHP, but it is easier to program streaming applications using Node.JS than PHP as Node.JS is specifically built for streaming applications.

If you want to learn how to program sophisticated desktop applications, start with Java, and then C++, and then either Python or C# (pronounce 'see sharp') or even Delphi if you dear to venture into the deep end of the programming language world. But the first three or four listed above is sufficient and you can accomplish any sophisticated desktop applications just fine.

If you just want to learn only one desktop language, Java is a very good choice to learn.

If you dear to venture into the deep end of the programming language world for desktop, here is a link to an excellent language called Delphi

If W3Schools doesn't have the topics I mentioned here, just Google around and you'll get plenty of results for you to get started. Have fun learning!

Here are the steps on how to get started programming for beginners:

1. First, you need an editor to write your programs with. There are lots of free editors on the Web such as NetBeans IDE, a free, open-source Integrated Development Environment for software developers. You get all the tools you need to create professional desktop, enterprise, web, and mobile applications with the Java language, C/C++, and even dynamic languages such as PHP, JavaScript, Node.JS, Groovy, and Ruby.

   NetBeans IDE is easy to install and use straight out of the box and runs on many platforms including Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Solaris.

   Other text editors that are very popular among beginners are Notepad++, Sublime Text, Atom, Ultra Edit, TextMate, BBedit, MAX's HTML Beauty++, etc. Please Google them to learn more about them. Or you can just Google the term 'free text editors' and you'll get a bunch of results.

   Personally, I have been using two text editors simultaneously: one is NetBeans IDE because I need to compile and run programs written in Java for desktop applications and another is MAX's HTML Beauty++ for doing non-desktop applications for the Web, such as Javascript, Node.JS, HTML, CSS, etc. MAX's HTML Beauty++ is perfectly suitable for these Web languages.

   What I like about MAX's HTML Beauty++ old version is that it color-codes all PHP code in yellow and leaving all other programming languages code as a default color, which is a non-color!

   Using MAX's HTML Beauty++ old version, you can preview your webpages instantly while you're still building it by switching back and forth between a "preview" and an "edit" mode. This is a great feature for beginners trying to learn how to program web applications.

   If you are not into building sophisticated desktop applications, here is MAX's HTML Beauty++ download that will do the job just fine for building Web applications.

   The download above is an older version, which happens to be my favorite version that I am still using it to this day, and I prefer this older version over the newer version, which is a 2004 version. If you prefer the newer 2004 version, here it is: http://www.htmlbeauty.com/bsetup.exe download

   As a matter of fact, any text editor, including Microsoft NotePad that comes with your Windows operating system, will do just fine for building Web applications.

   Also all these downloaded text editors come inside an archive compression zip file. You need to extract them once you've downloaded them using any archive unzip application. There are lots of free archive zip applications available on the Internet. See the following.

   Once you've downloaded your favorite text editor, extract it using free zip extracting applications like WinZip Express Zip WinRAR or WinRAR here! PeaZip

   Once you've downloaded your favorite archive zip application, you need to install it as you normally would with any other applications by following the installation instruction. It shouldn't be that hard to install the archive zip application. You can install it in any directory of your choosing and it doesn't need to be in a particular directory at all.

   Just make sure that you say "yes" when it prompts (you) if you want the installation program to create an icon in the desktop for that particular archive zip application. If you said "yes," it will create an icon for that archive zip application and it will put that icon on your desktop pane. Self-explanatory!

   Actually, you don't even need to have the icon shown on your desktop pane unless you need to open it to create an archive zip application to put your files in to send your files to the server. In that case, you definitely need to have an icon shown on your desktop pane.

   So basically, after you'd installed your favorite archive zip on your laptop/desktop you can use it to extract your downloaded text editor that came inside the zip archive by clicking on your "raw zipped" downloaded favorite text editor.

   Remember that all downloaded applications come inside an archive compression zip application -- it is totally zipped or compressed. So you need to extract/uncompress the downloaded text editor, which came inside the archive compression zip application.

   Just clicking on the "raw zipped" downloaded text editor in raw format and it will open up (automatically) the archive zip application that you had installed on your computer. You see, this is why you don't need to create an icon on your computer pane because you don't need to click it to open it. It opens the archive zip application automatically every time you click on the "raw zipped" downloaded application.

   Once it opens up the archive zip application it should show that your text editor is inside the archive zip application. In that archive zip screen, it shows a lot of options you can do, such as "create archive" for creating archive zip application packages, and "extract" option, which is to extract the (current) downloaded application. Follow the on-screen instruction and you'll be fine! It is very easy to use archive zip applications.

   If for some reasons you need to send files to the server, you can open the archive zip application by just clicking on the icon shown on your computer pane and it will open the archive zip application for you to use. This is why you need to allow the installation program to create an icon on your computer pane so that you can open it and use it easily.

   Let's say you have some photos, or any other content for that matter, and you want to send them to a remote server, you can put those photos/content/files in an archive zip application and send them to your remote server or any server you have accessed to. And then create a link to that archive zip file name and your users will be able to download those content from your website.

   For example, say you have a bunch of photos and you want to create an archive zip application by opening the archive zip application and then clicking on "create archive" or for some archive applications just say "create", and it will open a screen to allow you to create the archive zip application. From there, just follow the on-screen instructions and you'll be fine.

   Among the instructions is that it asks for a file name for the archive zip application you're creating; for example, you can name it as "myphoto" without any extension and it will create an empty archive zip application without any content in it.

   From there, you can put your photos/content inside that newly created archive zip application by copy and paste them or if the photos/content/files are on the computer pane, you can drag and drop them easily. It is very easy to create and move content into the archive zip applications.

   Now you have your photos/content/files inside your newly created archive zip application with a file name for that archive zip application and ready to go. Next, you can upload the entire archive zip application to your server so that your users can download them.

   To allow your users to download them, you need to create a link to that particular archive zip application that you just uploaded to your server. For example, say you upload your archive zip application to your website, which has a directory called "download," you can create a link somewhere on your website page like this: <a href="http://www.mywebsite.com/download/myphoto.zip">download my photos!</a>. That is it!

   Pay special attention to the extension, which in the above case, it is a ".zip" extension. So you need to specify the exact extension in order for it to work. Different archive compression applications have different extensions and they are named accordingly in a variety of extensions, i.e., .zip, .ar, .rar, .pea, etc. Check your particular archive compression applications for the extension they use.

   Well, the first step is a little too lengthy than I would have liked but I just wanted to be very clear and precise to help you along!

2. Next, you'll need a local webhost to build and test your applications offline -- that is, you're using a fake web server to build and test your web applications offline on your computer without having to rent a live "real" web server. Once you've built and tested your web applications offline, you can decide to get a real web server to host your web applications online so that your website can be viewed by people all over the world.

   As a matter of fact, most experienced programmers, including myself, use "fake" server to build and test applications on a daily basis. So I strongly recommend beginning programmers to do the same and use localhost to build and test your web applications. Once you finished building and testing your applications and then you can find a real web server to host your websites. Google around using phrases like this: "free webhosting services" to find a real web hosting service provider to host your websites. There are lots of them out there.

   Check out my other tutorial at the bottom of this page titled: 'Migrating your website to a real live server' for a free web hosting service provider that I found on the Internet when I Googled around using phrases like this: "free web hosting services".

   That free web hosting service provider that I found is one of the best free web hostings out there. I used that free web hosting to host one of my websites as well. You, too, can signup for a free web hosting account with them and use it to host your website just like I do.

   Please DO NOT use free web hosting to build and test your web applications because it slows down other people using the same host. All free web hostings are shared hosting: meaning all users of the shared hosting are routed through the same bandwidth and if lots of people use their live hosting to build and test their web applications, it slows down the shared hosting traffic.

   So please use your localhost to build and test your web applications.

3. To get a "fake" web server, usually called localhost, you can search the web using a term like "localhost webserver", or you can Google a specific term like "WAMP server", "XAMPP server", "MAMP server", "VAGRANT server", or DOCKER.i.

   Once you've identified which one you want, go ahead and download and then install it on your local machine, preferably on your laptop/desktop. You can choose to install it in any location on your desktop/laptop and it doesn't matter; however, for ease of use, choose the default setting shown on the installation prompts.

   Once you've installed your localhost web server, you're ready to build and test your web applications just like if you had rented a real live web server from a hosting vendor. The only difference is that your "fake" web server is locally run and is not visible on the web like a real web server does. Most of the instructions on the web are self-explanatory and are very easy to follow even for beginners who never know how to program a single program. You can check out Youtube.com on tutorials on these topics as well.

Here is a very brief tutorial on how to download and install a localhost called WAMP server.

Once you've installed a WAMP local host web server, all the required applications, such as the Apache (web server), MySQL (database), PHP programming language, and as well as the PHPmyAdmin (a MySQL application), are all bundled and installed completely into your local laptop/desktop to work with each other seamlessly.

In WAMP, you can work with databases using MySQL to store and retrieve data, as well as using PHP programming language to program your web applications. WAMP is not restricted to just PHP, however -- you can use other languages as well.

WAMP is a popular alternative of XAMPP for Windows. However, you can use XAMPP as well and it doesn't take much time to install XAMPP either. But developers may prefer to use WAMP since it is specifically crafted for Windows only -- unlike, XAMPP, which can be used for Linux and Mac OS as well.

However, both platforms are equally stable and provide the same functionality.

So you can choose any platform amongst the two to fulfill your objective. But all those who are searching for guidance on how to install WAMP on Windows system should follow the below-given steps. So let's get going!!

How to Install WAMP on Windows

1. Download the WAMP Server: Wampserver 64 bit x64

   You want to choose a 64 bit version. The 32 bit is for older computers or laptops, which is outdated in today's programming world. If you're using computers that is still using a 32 bit, by all mean choose 32 bit version. To check what version your computer is running on, go to the status bar at the lower left corner of your computer screen and type in the search box: control panel and press enter.

   The "Control Panel" screen should pop up. In that screen, look for a section called "System and Security" or "System and Maintenance" or anything that has a word "System" on it. For Windows 7, 8, 10, it should says "System and Security." Click on that topic and a "System and Security" screen should pop up.

   Next, look for the topic "System" and click on that topic and a "System" screen should pop up. In that screen under the "System" section it lists the "System type" which should say a "64-bit Operating System or 32-bit Operating System, depending on your computer. If it says "64-bit Operating System, your computer is running on a 64-bit operating system. "32-bit Operating System", otherwise.

2. Initiate WAMP Server Installation Process. I'm being lazy and for the rest of the installation instructions, I will refer to an excellent instruction on the web: here it is: click here!

3. In that instruction, be careful in step 2. WAMP server looks for a version of Microsoft Visual C++ re-distributable package already installed on your laptop/desktop. Most of the laptops/desktops come with a Microsoft VC++ re-distributable package already pre-installed, so you don't have to do anything. However, for some odd reasons, some laptops/desktops came without that Microsoft Visual C++ re-distributable package pre-installed.

   In that case, you might have to search the web for "Microsoft Visual C++ re-distributable package" and download it and install it using default settings contains in its installation application. When you install Microsoft Visual C++, it is very easy and self-explanatory, the same way you install a WAMP server -- they both are self-explanatory, allowing you to just use default settings.

   FYI: If you look in the "Control Panel" screen mentioned earlier, it should shows Microsoft Visual C++ installed already; and in that case, WAMP server will find it and use it to complete the installation process, and thus, you don't need to do anything on your part, sparring you from having to search the web.

4. Once you get through the Microsoft Visual C++ re-distributable package installation process and proceeds to the end of the installation process, the last thing the WAMP server installation guide will prompt you to do is, to enter/choose a text editor. You can accept a default text editor in the prompt or choose your favorite text editor to use with your newly installed WAMP server. It looks something like this:

   

   It's okay one way or another as it is not very significant if you do not choose a particular text editor or not as a default text editor for the WAMP server to use. It won't effect/harm your WAMP server at all.

   However, I strongly recommend you just select a text editor of your choice or just leave it as a default text editor that the WAMP server chooses, which is a Microsoft notepad. In other words, by choosing a particular text editor doesn't restrict you from using other text editors with your WAMP server.

   It also will prompt you to enter/choose a default web browser to use with your newly installed WAMP server. Likewise, by choosing a particular web browser doesn't restrict you from using other web browser with your WAMP server either. So it looks something like this:

   

5. Once you've finished the installation process, you can use the "fake" web server to build and test your web applications offline as you normally would with a "live" real web server. To start, click on the arrow or status icon usually on the lower right corner of your laptop/desktop screen to activate the tap that shows the "fake" web server options listing.

   Note: From time to time, if you're using Windows operating system, Windows operating system usually runs updates to update its software drivers and the rest of its system files automatically and periodically. If you're using Windows OS, you may have experienced this update many times already and it's kind of annoying as well, but it's a necessary task for Windows OS, according to Microsoft.

   One of the annoying things that this update causes is that it causes the WAMP server to not function properly once the update is completed.

   If you experienced this and having issues with your WAMP server to not function properly, just un-install your WAMP server completely from your system and then re-install it again and it should work properly.

   Yes, it is very annoying having to un-install and re-install your WAMP server every time a Windows operating system runs its update.

   Make sure that you move all of your "projects" in the "www" directory to a different location (or directory) before un-installing your WAMP server; because if you don't, it will delete all of your projects in the "www" directory.

   Let's continue on:

   It should show an icon that looks something like below with a status icon that usually appears on the lower right corner of your laptop/desktop screen, but with a particular color on it. A green color (as shown below) signifies as the wampserver is ready to use; a grey or pink color, it is not activated; a yellow, it is partially ready and in the process of being ready as it is finishing the loading process.

   

   If it is inactive, all you have to do to fire up your wampserver is to double click on the default icon on your laptop pane that looks something like below:

   

   Usually, when you turn off your laptop, WAMP server is also turned off and no longer active and the green status icon you see above is not shown. When it is turned off, the status icon that usually appears on the lower right corner of your laptop/desktop screen doesn't show the WAMP server icon because it is not activated.

   To activate it or turn on your WAMP server, double click on the default icon on your laptop pane to get it activated.

6. Once your "fake" server is up and running, you can do pretty much just about anything you do with a "live" server. You can click on the arrow next to the green status icon to reveal other options, such as a PHP icon to see what version of PHP is installed on your "fake" server; as well as clicking on PHPmyAdmin to work with database.

   Note that PHPmyAdmin in your "fake" server doesn't require you to enter a password, although you can if you want -- but why bother to complicate yourself in having to enter a password every time you try to access your PHPmyAdmin? So just enter 'root' for the username and don't enter a password on the password field. Leave it blank as it is!

   Just click "Go" without entering a password and it will open the PHPmyAdmin panel for you.

7. In the PHPmyAdmin, you can create databases and tables and do pretty much just about anything about database programming.

8. As stated above, when a localhost is up and running the status icon usually appears on the lower right corner of your laptop/desktop screen. Click on the arrow to reveal the the localhost options. In this option window, you can find a lot of options to choose from, such as PHPmyAdmin, just to name one.

   You can click on the particular option to work with it. For example, among the options there is a "localhost" option. Click on that "localhost" option and it will open up a screen that looks something like the following:

   

   As you can see, it shows the configuration status of the localhost such as what version of various entities: Apache, PHP, MySQL, etc. Most of them are really not useful for beginners. Experienced programmers can make use some of these configurations.

   The diagram above combines with the one listed below is what it should looks like inside a real server. This localhost web server mimmicks what a real server looks like but on an offline mode.

9. The localhost also contains a section in the lower half that lists content that is more relevant to beginning users of Wampserver, such as tools and your actual projects that you had created. For example, below it lists three projects that I've created: advanced, framework, noon2noon.com:

   

   If you click on one of the projects it will execute/load the project. For example, if I click on the project called noon2noon.com it will load and display my website called noon2noon.com.

   However, you can load your website on the browser's url bar as well, the same way you normally would with your regular "live" server. That is the typical usage of localhost: you don't need to load your website through localhost option window, but instead, through a normal loading process in the browser's url bar.

10. You should try to create a very simple website and click on it in the project section to see what it looks like on your "fake" server. When you create your projects, place them in a directory where you installed your Wampserver. For example, in my case, I installed my Wampserver in a directory that looks like the following:

    

    As you can see, my root directory is called "Desktop" followed by a directory that I named it as "wamp64" followed by a directory called "www." This directory called "www" is created automatically by the installation, so you really don't have to create it yourself. The only directory that you need to create and specify during the Wampserver installation is the "wamp64" part or whatever name you choose. I chose to name it "wamp64."

    Any projects you build have to be placed inside the "www" directory in order to be visible by your localhost. For example, in my case, I placed my projects in that "www" directory and inside my project noon2noon.com it contains content that looks like the following:

    

    One particular content worths mentioning is the index.php file. This is the main starting script file that the server/localhost calls first thing when you try to load the website by typing in your url bar like http://www.noon2noon.com. However, that is for your real live web server when you migrate your website to a real web server.

    But for this tutorial, you're using a fake server called localhost, and, therefore, you have to type in the browser bar using localhost instead of www.

    So you can simply replace the domain specification 'www' with 'localhost' and just type the name of the folder following it as, in my case, http://localhost/noon2noon.com or simply just localhost/noon2noon.com and it will load the website automatically.

    For my project advanced, which its inside content looks similar to my other two projects framework and noon2noon.com, I can just do the same like this http://localhost/advanced, and likewise for the other one http://localhost/framework, and both websites will load automatically.

    Notice that you can include an index.php or index.html file as well since it doesn't require you to specify an extension of either a .php or a .html and it will work just fine. For examples: http://localhost/noon2noon.com/index, http://localhost/advanced/index, http://localhost/framework/index, and all websites will load automatically.

    Please note that when you migrate your websites to a real web server, you have to abide by your web hosting's rule, which tells you what kind of an extension of either a .php or an .html that their server is using. If they're using a .php extension, you'll have to rename your index file with that extension. Likewise, if they're using an .html extension, you'll have to rename your index file extension as such.

    For a localhost, it doesn't matter. It will read from either .php extension or .html file extension.

    For starter, in your case, just create an index.php or index.html file and throw it in a folder and place that folder inside the "www" directory and type http://localhost/ follows by your folder name in the url browser bar to see your website comes alive. Try it!

    If your website doesn't come alive and showing a weird screen that looks like the following, it means that for some reason the localhost cannot read your index file:

    

    As you can see, there is no index file listed in the main folder. I deleted it on purpose!

    Remember that each website has to have only one index file as a main starting application file. So make sure that you have a functional index file and it has to be only one index file. No index.php and index.html at the same location vying as the main starting application file.

11. Once you are finished building and testing, you can migrate your projects to your live real web hosting server. For example, in my case, I just take the folder containing the particular project, i.e., noon2noon.com folder, and upload the entire folder to my real live server. That's how you get started in developing website applications.

    For starter, you can create a folder and name it and then create an index.php or index.html file as well as other files/folders and put them inside that folder that you just created which contains other files/folders as well and upload the entire folder using FileZilla. See my other tutorial on how to use FileZilla.

12. That is it! Very simple to have your own "fake" server. And from here, the possiblities are endless! Have fun programming!

Building a Website for Beginners

For beginners, building a website is a daunting task, even for very simple websites that don't have ordinary bells and whistles and are still very challenging to say the least. Fortunately, the folks at the W3Schools.com provide all sort of examples and ready-made web site templates to help beginners get started.

Let's take a look at one template and illustrate how you (beginners) can build your own web site using the ready-made template and customize it to suite your taste.

First go to https://www.w3schools.com/w3css/w3css_downloads.asp and download the css definition (or file) and place it in a folder called css. The default file name is w3.css. You can rename the css file if you like, say css.css or style.css. If you do, don't forget to change the css file name accordingly in your index.php file at the css area at the top of the index.php file to reflect the change in the css file name.

Next, in the same page where you're downloading the css, look on the left side under the category name Examples and try to find a topic name called W3.CSS Templates. Or you can go to https://www.w3schools.com/w3css/w3css_templates.asp

You can scroll down to see the various templates available to use. Pick one and go from there!

If the templates mentioned in the above link is not enough for your tastes, you can find more templates to use right here!

Once you decided which one you want to use, go ahead and click on the "Try it Yourself" button to see the actual code.

Next, copy the actual code, character by character, without missing any character. In other words, no typos in your part or else your web site won't look as intended. If your web site doesn't look like it is intended, try to go back and see if you had any typos in your copied code.

The folks at W3Schools.com used some sort of techniques, such as disabling the "hot link" ability, to disable the copy and paste ability from the web browser. So you can't actually use your web browser to copy and paste the code shown in the templates. You'll have to use advanced editors or tools to copy and paste the code in the templates.

For beginners, advanced tools are out of reach, so just try to copy it manually by hand character by character until you completely copied everything in the template. Yes, it is a pain, but that is what you have to do to learn. Name that template as either index.php or index.html. This is your main index file -- or your main web site file.

Once you have the css file downloaded as well as the template copied and name it as either index.php or index.html, then you need to create a main folder as well as a css folder.

Next, create another folder called image and put all the images/photos that you want to use in your website in that image folder.

You can name them whatever names you like for any folders you create, i.e., MyWebsite, MyFirstProject (for the main folder), css, style (for the css folder), image (for the image folder), etc.

You need to put the index.php or index.html as well as the css folder and the image folder in the main folder. The css file containing the css definitions should be inside the css folder, while the image folder contains all images you need to use. Self-explanatory!.

So your main folder contains everything you need. So you need to put everything in this main folder, including other folders as well such as css, image, etc. The index file should be among the css and image folders as peers at the same level.

That's all you need for this simple website. Three folders: main folder (i.e., MyWebsite or MyFirstProject, or whatever), css folder, and image folder. Plus the index.php/index.html and all three are peers -- meaning they are at the same level in directory. For example:

Of course, you can have more folders and other contents as well as your website gets sophisticated, but for this simple website the three items are all you need for now.

As you can see, I put my main folder called MyWebSite inside the www localhost folder for building and testing web applications. The index.php file contains the content listed below and the actual rendering page content is shown in the following.

Let's see one particular template called "Social Media Template" taken from W3Schools.com website in the W3.CSS Templates category, but I customized it slightly. Here it is:

Here is the actual code along with the commented out code that contained in the original template shown in the W3Schools.com:

File: index.php

<!-- all HTML document start with a !doctype -->

<!-- it is a Document Type declaration to tell the web browser of -->
<!-- what version of the HTML markup language in which a web page -->
<!-- is written. -->

<!-- every time a browser reads a document such as an HTML document it -->
<!-- needs to know what version the HTML markup language is written in -->
<!-- so that it can parse it correctly. -->

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Template</title>

<!-- a meta (<meta>) tag provides metadata information about -->
<!-- the HTML document. -->

<!-- a metadata information will not be displayed on the page, -->
<!-- but will be machine/browser parsable. -->

<!-- metadata elements are typically used to specify page description, -->
<!-- keywords, author of the document, last modified, and other metadata. -->

<!-- you put metadata in <meta> tags-->

<!-- meta (<meta>) tags are documents for the browsers to read and -->
<!-- used the meta content, for example, you can specify a view port -->
<!-- device dimension such as width. -->

<!-- the word "meta" means self or itself, referring to itself or -->
<!-- a self-referential. -->
<!-- so a self-referential. -->

<!-- meta tags can contain attributes, i.e., name and content. -->
<!-- the two most frequently used in a meta tag are name and content -->

<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

<!-- the following link is the css link stored in folder named css -->

<link rel="stylesheet" href="./css/mobile.css">

<!-- the following two links were broken down to fit the screen display -->
<!-- these two links are specialized css stored in cloudflare.com -->
<!-- you only need to incude these links if you use awesome fonds and -->
<!-- bootsrap code like form input boxes, textarea, and dialog boxes -->
<!-- you can check out bootstrap tutorials on W3Schools as well! -->

<link rel="stylesheet"
      href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/4.6.3/
                                        css/font-awesome.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet"
      href="http://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/twitter-bootstrap/
                                        3.2.0/css/bootstrap.min.css">

<!-- the following three lines link to jquery, bootstrap, and -->
<!-- my own Javascript files -->

<script src="https://code.jquery.com/w3/1.4.5/jquery.w3-1.4.5.min.js">
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="javascript/javascript.js"></script>
</head>

<!-- this is the start of the web site body -->
<!-- the 'class' attribute specifies the css that this body uses to -->
<!-- beautify itself -->
<!-- disregard the theme class, but make use of the color class -->
<!-- this is where you set your body background color, light grey, in this -->
<!-- case! -->
<!-- check out the list of pre-made colors at the bottom of this listing -->

<!-- in this body is where you also set your text size using w3-tiny -->
<!-- w3-small, w3-medium, w3-large, w3-xlarge, w3-xxlarge, -->
<!-- w3-xxxlarge, w3-jumbo -->

<!-- as you use W3Schools templates, you can put multiple css classes in an
     element, i.e., <body>, <div>, <span>, <p>, <a>, <button>, <img>, etc. -->

<body class="w3-theme-l5 w3-light-grey">

<!-- some of the following codes were broken down into multiple lines -->
<!-- to fit the screen display -->

<!-- Navbar -->

<!-- this is the div that wraps around the navbar -->

<div class="w3-top">


<!-- in the navbar you can style the look-and-feel using css classes. -->
<!-- for example, you can make the navbar thicker or thiner by specifying -->
<!-- the class as w3-padding-tiny, w3-padding-small, -->
<!-- w3-padding-large, etc. -->

<!-- in the example site illustrated above I style the navbar as w3-blue! -->

  <div class="w3-bar w3-theme-d2 w3-left-align w3-small w3-blue">
     <a class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hide-medium w3-hide-large w3-right
                  w3-padding-small w3-hover-white w3-small w3-theme-d2"
                  href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="openNav()">
                  <i class="fa fa-bars"></i></a>

    <!-- notice that the anchor tags contain "#" used in place ---->
    <!-- of the actual url that you need to provide! ---->
    <!-- the "#" is just a placeholder for the real url! ---->
    <!-- so don't forget to replace "#" with the actual url! ---->
    <!-- for example: "http://www.example.com/homefolder/myfile.php" ---->

    <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-padding-large w3-theme-d4">
                   <i class="fa fa-home w3-margin-right"></i>Logo</a>

    <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hide-small w3-padding-large
                   w3-hover-white" title="News"><i class="fa fa-globe"></i></a>

    <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hide-small w3-padding-large
        w3-hover-white" title="Account Settings"><i class="fa fa-user"></i></a>

    <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hide-small w3-padding-large
               w3-hover-white" title="Messages"><i class="fa fa-envelope"></i>

    <div class="w3-dropdown-hover w3-hide-small">
      <button class="w3-button w3-padding-large" title="Notifications">
           <i class="fa fa-bell"></i>
           <span class="w3-badge w3-right w3-small w3-green">3</span>
      </button>

      <!-- here is again the use of "#" as a placeholder for the real url! ---->

      <div class="w3-dropdown-content w3-card-4 w3-bar-block"
              style="width:300px">
         <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button">One new friend request</a>
         <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button">John Doe posted on
              your wall</a>
         <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button">Jane likes your post</a>
      </div>
    </div>

    <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hide-small w3-right
       w3-padding-medium w3-hover-white" title="My Account">
       <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" class="w3-circle"
       style="height:23px;width:23px" alt="Avatar"> </a>
  </div>

</div> <!-- end div class="w3-top" -->

<!-- the following code block is the code that gets used instead of the -->
<!-- above navbar when a mobile device is used to load -->
<!-- this web site -->

<!-- Navbar on small screens -->

<!-- here is again the use of "#" as a placeholder for the real url! ---->

<div id="navDemo" class="w3-bar-block w3-theme-d2 w3-hide
   w3-hide-large w3-hide-medium w3-large">
   <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-padding-large">Link 1</a>
   <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-padding-large">Link 2</a>
   <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-padding-large">Link 3</a>
   <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-padding-large">My Profile</a>
</div>

<!-- now the navbar code is done! -->

<!-- at this point there are 0 open <div> tag -->

<!-- Page Container -->

<!-- remember that there are typically four sections in a web site: -->
<!-- the head section, the navbar section, the main body content, -->
<!-- and the footer -->

<!-- so the following is the start of the main content of the web site, -->
<!-- and this section is the biggest section. -->

<!-- this main container has a maximum width of 1400 pixels -->
<!-- and spaces between the navbar and the start of the main -->
<!-- container or content is 80 pixels. -->

<!-- take a look at the gap in the web site above for a visual guide! -->

<!-- for a better practice is to use percentage as in 100% -->
<!-- of the screen width rather than specifying the exact width! -->
<!-- that way it works much better on different screen sizes! -->

<!-- pay special attention to one class: w3-container -->
<!-- 'container' is sort of a basket to hold something, in this case, -->
<!-- it holds a grid of column layout -->

<!-- in a later case, it holds a (small) profile container area! -->

<!-- as you can see, class w3-container can be used inside -->
<!-- another container area as well -->

<!-- in this case, this w3-container class acts as the main content -->
<!-- holder, holding everything in the body of the entire page! -->

<!-- remember that the whole website has four sections: navbar section, -->
<!-- head section, the main body section, and the footer section! -->

<!-- so this div has a w3-container class to hold the entire content -->
<!-- and this entire content is actually the 3-column layout grid! -->

<div class="w3-container w3-content" style="max-width:1400px; margin-top:80px">

  <!-- The Grid -->

  <!-- W3Schools provides grid system for us to use! -->
  <!-- for a complete in depth tutorial see W3Schools on this topic! -->

  <!-- pay special attention to a class called w3-row -->

  <!-- so two classes that are central to W3Schools framework are -->
  <!-- w3-container and w3-row -->

  <!-- you'll make use of these two classes very often! -->

  <!-- basically, the grid must be inside the container: w3-container! -->
  <!-- and the container, w3-container, can contain rows of content! -->

  <!-- this grid starts with a class w3-row -->
  <!-- this is sort of the anchor div to hold the entire grid or one row! -->

  <!-- class w3-row is a grid system. think of w3-row as a table row where -->
  <!-- you can arrange grid data content in it. so if you have data content -->
  <!-- that are normally arranged in rows in a table, you can use this -->
  <!-- w3-row to hold those data content in table rows-like display! -->

  <!-- however, in this website we have only one row of a table row! -->
  <!-- if we have more data content that needs another table row, all we -->
  <!-- have to do is create another div containing this w3-row class and -->
  <!-- put it after the closing of this div shown below! -->
  <!-- see the closing of this div later! -->

  <!-- if you look at the website illustrated above, you'll see the -->
  <!-- whole content body is inside a div that contains the class w3-row. -->

  <!-- this is one row of content containing a three-column layout. -->

  <!-- after the closing of this div w3-row, you can create more rows -->
  <!-- of content by creating more divs that contain the class w3-row. -->

  <!-- for each div that contains w3-row you can format your grid layout -->
  <!-- any way you like, say, a four-column layout or whatever layout -->
  <!-- configuration you desire!  -->

  <!-- here is the row! -->

  <div class="w3-row">

    <!-- here is inside the row! -->

    <!-- now inside the anchor div or more specifically, -->
    <!-- the w3-row (or grid) there are columns layout: a one-column -->
    <!-- display, a two-column display, a three-column display, etc. -->
    <!-- in this case, we have a three-column layout web site! -->

    <!-- Left Column -->

    <!-- this is the left column in the web site: see profile area column! -->
    <!-- m3 is short for medium 3 out of 12 columns: 3-twelfth of the grid -->

    <!-- W3Schools uses three sizes: small (s), medium (m), large (l) -->
    <!-- so if you see s1 means a small scale grid with one-twelfth of -->
    <!-- the grid. m7 is a medium scale layout with 7/12 of the total -->
    <!-- grid layout. -->

    <!-- likewise, an l2 (that is "L" and 2) means 1arge scale layout-->
    <!-- with a two-twelfth of the total grid layout! -->

    <!-- here, we have a medium scale with 3/12th of the total grid layout -->

    <!-- as you can see, this left column has a class w3-container to hold -->
    <!-- the entire left side area! -->

    <!-- as stated above, class w3-container can be used inside this -->
    <!-- container area as well! sort of containers within container! -->

    <div class="w3-col m3 w3-container">

      <!-- Profile -->

      <!-- w3-card is a class to make the profile looks like a deck -->
      <!-- of cards, w3-round will make the deck of cards rounded -->
      <!-- edges on all 4 corners -->

      <div class="w3-card w3-round w3-light-blue">

        <!-- here is where class w3-container gets used to hold-->
        <!-- a profile area -->

        <div class="w3-container">
          <h4 class="w3-center">My Profile</h4>
            <p class="w3-center"><img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg"
               class="w3-circle" style="height:106px;width:106px"
               alt="A Profile Picture"></p>
               <hr>
            <p><i class="fa fa-pencil fa-fw w3-margin-right
               w3-text-theme"></i> Designer, UI</p>
            <p><i class="fa fa-home fa-fw w3-margin-right
               w3-text-theme"></i> Minneapolis, MN (US)</p>
            <p><i class="fa fa-birthday-cake fa-fw w3-margin-right
               w3-text-theme"></i> April 1, 2020</p>
        </div>
       </div>
       <br>

<!-- Accordion -->

<!-- this block of code contains an accordion-like feature -->
<!-- when a user clicks on an item it slides down to reveal the content! -->

      <!-- class w3-card is a css that made to look like a deck of cards -->

      <div class="w3-card w3-round">
        <div class="w3-pale-blue">

          <!-- when a user clicks on "My Groups" it calls myFunction() -->
          <!-- and it displays an accordion style revealing the content -->

          <!-- you might want to experiment using other elements such -->
          <!-- as div or span or other elements instead of button! -->

          <button onclick="myFunction('Demo1')" class="w3-button
             w3-block w3-theme-l1 w3-left-align">
             <i class="fa fa-circle-onotch fa-fw w3-margin-right">
              My Groups</i></button>

          <!-- here is again w3-container gets used! -->

          <!-- note that w3-hide hides the content inside the -->
          <!-- div when the page is loaded! -->

          <!-- it will only reveal the content when a user clicks -->
          <!-- on "My Groups"! -->

          <div id="Demo1" class="w3-hide w3-container">
             <p>Some text..</p>
          </div>

          <!-- when a user clicks on "My Events" it calls myFunction() -->
          <!-- and it displays an accordion style calendar of events -->
          <!-- by sliding down to reveal the content -->

          <!-- you might want to experiment using other elements such -->
          <!-- as div or span or other elements instead of button! -->

          <!-- right here where you might want to place a break: "<br>" -->
          <!-- to make the gap between the two accordion item elements! -->

          <!-- so instead of using "<br>" you might want to use -->
          <!-- css styling to specify how much gap you want because -->
          <!-- "<br>" might be bigger/smaller gap than you like! -->

          <!-- so using css to style the gap is probably a good idea! -->

          <button onclick="myFunction('Demo2')" class="w3-button w3-block
             w3-theme-l1 w3-left-align"><i class="fa fa-calendar-check-0
             fa-fw w3-margin-right"> My Events</i></button>

          <!-- here is again w3-container gets used! -->

          <!-- again w3-hide hides the content inside the -->
          <!-- div when the page is loaded! -->

          <!-- it will only reveal the content when a user clicks -->
          <!-- on "My Events"! -->

          <div id="Demo2" class="w3-hide w3-container">
             <p>Some other text..</p>
          </div>

          <!-- likewise, when a user clicks on "My Photos" it calls -->
          <!-- myFunction() and it displays an accordion style album -->
          <!-- of photos by sliding down to reveal the photos in a -->
          <!-- two-column layout -->

          <!-- if you provide photos in the below container: a photo -->
          <!-- album container, it will display them when a user -->
          <!-- clicks on "My Photos" -->

          <!-- you might want to experiment using other elements such -->
          <!-- as div or span or other elements instead of button! -->

          <!-- right here where you might want to place a break: "<br>" -->
          <!-- to make the gap between the two accordion item elements! -->

          <!-- so instead of using "<br>" you might want to use -->
          <!-- css styling to specify how much gap you want because -->
          <!-- "<br>" might be bigger/smaller gap than you like! -->

          <!-- so using css to style the gap is probably a good idea! -->

          <button onclick="myFunction('Demo3')" class="w3-button
             w3-block w3-theme-l1 w3-left-align">
             <i class="fa fa-user fa-fw w3-margin-right"> My Photos
             </i></button>

          <!-- class w3-container is used to hold the photos album layout -->
          
          <!-- w3-hide is a class to hide the element: diplay: none -->
          <!-- as you can see, when the web site is loaded, "Demo3" is -->
          <!-- not shown! -->
          <!-- it will only be shown when a user clicks on -->
          <!-- "My Photos" button! -->

          <div id="Demo3" class="w3-hide w3-container">
            <div class="w3-row-padding">
               <br>

               <!-- the following is where you put your photo album! -->

               <!-- class w3-half is a grid layout as a two-column -->
               <!-- layout relative to the class w3-container used -->
               <!-- in the album layout so the photos are arranged -->
               <!-- side by side as a two-column layout -->

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="./image/graduation.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <!-- this is another two-column grid stacking below above -->

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="./image/graduation.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <!-- this is another two-column grid stacking below above -->

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="image/example5.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="image/graduation.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>
            </div>  <!-- end div class="w3-row-padding" -->
          </div>  <!-- end div id="Demo3" -->
        </div>  <!-- end div class="w3-white" -->
      </div>  <!-- end div class="w3-card w3-round" -->

<!-- this is the end of an accordion-like feature! -->

<!-- at this point there are still 3 open div -->

<!-- Interest: the miscellaneous content of interest! -->

<!-- w3-hide-small is to not display the content when mobile -->
<!-- device is used to load the web site! so "Interests" content -->
<!-- won't be loaded if mobile device is being used to load -->
<!-- this web site -->

<div class="w3-card w3-round w3-teal w3-hide-small">
   <div class="w3-container">
      <p>Interests</p>

      <p>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-d5">News</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-d4">W3Schools</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-d3">Labels</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-d2">Games</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-d1">Friends</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme">Games</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-l1">Friends</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-l2">Food</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-l3">Design</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-l4">Art</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-l5">Photos</span>
      </p>
   </div>
</div>

The following block of code contained in the original template

<!-- Alert box -->

<!-- when a user clicks on this div area an alert box pops up -->
<!--
<div class="w3-container w3-display-container w3-round w3-theme-14
   w3-border w3-theme-border w3-margin-bottom w3-hide-small w3-red">
   <span onclick="this.parentElement.style.display='none'"
      class="w3-button w3-theme-13 w3-display-topright">
      <i class="fa fa-remove"></i>
   </span>

   <p><strong>Hey,</strong></p>

   <p>People are looking at your profile. Find out who!</p>
</div>
-->

</div> <!-- end left column -->

<!-- at this point there are still 2 open <div> tags -->

<!-- start middle column -->

<!-- this is the start of the middle column. -->
<!-- size m7 means 7/12 of the grid -->
<!-- as you can figure it out: there are 12 columns in the entire grid -->
<!-- if the left side column is m3, meaning 3/12 of the grid, -->
<!-- and middle column is 7/12 of the grid, -->
<!-- the right column has to be 2/12 of the grid! -->

<div class="w3-col m7">

  <!-- right here where I add some new content to the middle column -->

  <!-- I add a scrolling message board to make it more flashy. for example: -->

  <div class="w3-row-padding">

    <!-- notice that you need to use the entire length of the grid: m12 -->
    <!-- meaning the entire middle column -->

    <div class="w3-col m12">

    <div class="w3-card-2 w3-round w3-white">
      <div class="w3-container w3-padding">

         <marquee bgcolor=white width="100%" height="50">
            <font size="5" color="#FF66FF">
            Welcome to the 21st century and beyond where digital mobile rules!</font>
            &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
            &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
            <font size="5" color="#1883FF">More content to scroll!</font>
         </marquee>

     </div>
    </div>
   </div>
  </div>

   <div class="w3-row-padding">
      <div class="w3-col m12">
         <div class="w3-card w3-round w3-white">
            <div class="w3-container w3-padding">
               <h6 class="w3-opacity">Social Media Template</h6>
                  <p contenteditable="true" class="w3-border
                      w3-padding">Status: Feeling blue!</p>
                  <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme">
                       <i class="fa fa-pencil"></i> Post
                  </button>
             </div>
          </div>
       </div>
    </div>

    <div class="w3-container w3-card w3-round w3-blue w3-margin">
      <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" alt="Avatar" class="w3-left
              w3-circle w3-margin-right" style="width:60px">
      <span class="w3-right w3-opacity">1 min</span>

      <h4>John Doe</h4>

      <hr class="w3-clear">

      <p>This is just an ordinary content! You can put whatever
            content you want!</p>

      <div class="w3-row-padding" style="margin:0 -16px">
         <!-- 
         <div class="w3-half">
            <img src="./image/graduation.jpg" alt="just a picturer"
                    style="width: 100%" class="w3-margin-bottom">
         </div>

         <div class="w3-half">
            <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" alt="another picture"
                    style="width: 100%" class="w3-margin-bottom">
         </div>
         -->
      </div>

      <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d1 w3-margin-bottom">
            <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up"></i> Like</button>
      <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d2 w3-margin-bottom">
            <i class="fa fa-comment"></i> Comment</button>
    </div>

    <div class="w3-container w3-card w3-round w3-khaki w3-margin"><br>
       <!--
       <img src="./image/graduation.jpg" alt="Avatar" class="w3-left
               w3-circle w3-margin-right" style="width:60px">
       -->
       <span class="w3-right w3-opacity">16 min</span>

       <h4>Jane Doe</h4>

       <hr class="w3-clear">

       <p>Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor.
             Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor.</p>

       <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d1 w3-margin-bottom">
             <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up"></i> Like</button>
       <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d2 w3-margin-bottom">
             <i class="fa fa-comment"></i> Comment</button>
    </div>

The following block of code contained in the original template

<!--

    <div class="w3-container w3-card w3-round w3-lime w3-margin"><br>

       <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" alt="Avatar" class="w3-left
          w3-circle w3-margin-right" style="width:60px">

       <span class="w3-right w3-opacity">30 min</span>

       <h4>Angie Jane

       <hr class="w3-clear">

       <img src="./image/gradution.jpg" class="w3-margin-bottom"
               style="width:100%">

       <p>Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor.
             Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor.</p>

       <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d1 w3-margin-bottom">
             <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up"></i> Like</button>
       <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d2 w3-margin-bottom">
             <i class="fa fa-comment"></i> Comment</button>
    </div>
-->


<!-- on the left side column there is an accordion slide down/up -->
<!-- feature which contains three sections: My Groups, My Events, -->
<!-- My Photos! you can use that code example to place your -->
<!-- accordion feature anywhere on the website! -->

<!-- let's put that same accordion feature in the middle column at -->
<!-- the very bottom just before the start of the footer! -->

<!-- just remember that each accordion item must contains -->
<!-- a unique id, e.g., group, event, photo! -->

<!-- start accordion style feature! -->

<!-- Accordion -->

      <div class="mobile-card mobile-round">
        <div class="mobile-pale-blue">

          <!-- when a user clicks on "My Groups" it will call -->
          <!-- myFunction() and it displays an accordion -->
          <!-- style revealing the content -->

          <!-- you might want to experiment using other elements such -->
          <!-- as div or span or other elements instead of button! -->

          <button onclick="myFunction('group')"
              class="mobile-button mobile-block mobile-theme-l1
              mobile-left-align">
              <i class="fa fa-circle-onotch fa-fw
              mobile-margin-right"> My Groups</i>
          </button>

          <div id="group" class="mobile-hide mobile-container">
              <p>Some text..</p>
          </div>

          <!-- when a user clicks on "My Events" it will call -->
          <!-- myFunction() and it displays an accordion -->
          <!-- style calendar of events by sliding down to -->
          <!-- reveal the content! -->

          <!-- you might want to experiment using other elements such -->
          <!-- as div or span or other elements instead of button! -->

          <button onclick="accordion('event')"
             class="mobile-button mobile-block mobile-theme-l1
             mobile-left-align">
             <i class="fa fa-calendar-check-0 fa-fw
             mobile-margin-right"> My Events</i>
          </button>

          <div id="event" class="mobile-hide mobile-container">
              <p>Some other text..</p>
          <div>

          <!-- likewise, when a user clicks on "My Photos" it calls -->
          <!-- myFunction() and it displays an accordion style -->
          <!-- album of photos by sliding down to reveal the photos -->
          <!-- in a two-column layout -->

          <!-- if you provide photos in the below container: a photo -->
          <!-- album container! it will display them when a user -->
          <!-- clicks on "My Photos" -->

          <!-- the below layout is a two-column layout displaying -->
          <!-- two photos side by side! -->
          <!-- in this example, there are six photos displaying -->
          <!-- in pairs to make it three rows! -->

          <!-- you might want to experiment using other elements such -->
          <!-- as div or span or other elements instead of button! -->

          <span class="hljs-string"><button onclick="accordion('photo')"
                class="mobile-button mobile-block mobile-theme-l1
                mobile-left-align"><i class="fa fa-user
                fa-fw mobile-margin-right"> My Photos</i>
          </button>

          <div id="photo" class="mobile-hide mobile-container">
            <div class="mobile-row-padding">
               <br>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                  class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon_graduation.jpg"
                  style="width: 100%" class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg"
                  style="width: 100%" class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon_graduation.jpg"
                  style="width: 100%" class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="image/paul_tuon.jpg"
                  style="width: 100%" class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="image/paul_tuon_graduation.jpg"
                  style="width: 100%" class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>
            </div>  <!-- end div class="mobile-row-padding" -->
          </div>  <!-- end div id="photo" -->
        </div>  <!-- end div class="mobile-pale-blue" -->
      </div>  <!-- end div class="mobile-card mobile-round" -->

   <!-- end accordion style feature! -->

</div> <!-- end middle column -->

<!-- start right column -->

<!-- here it is: right column is 2/12 of the grid -->

<div class="w3-col m2">
   <div class="w3-card w3-round w3-aqua w3-center">
      <div class="w3-container">
         <p>Upcoming Events:</p>

         <img src="./image/image_105.jpg" class="w3-margin-bottom"
                 style="width:100%">

         <p><strong>Holiday</strong></p>
         <p>Friday 15:00</p>
         <p><button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-14
            w3-block">Info</button></p>
      </div>
    </div>

    <div class="w3-card w3-round w3-pink w3-center">
      <iv class="w3-container">
         <p>Friend Request</p>
         <!--
         <img src="./image/graduation.jpg" class="w3-margin-bottom"
                 style="width:50%">
         -->
         <span>Jane Doe</span>
         <div class="w3-row w3-opacity">

           <div class="w3-half">
              <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-block-14
              w3-green w3-section" title="Accept">
              <i class="fa fa-check"></i></button>
           </div>

           <div class="w3-half">
              <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-block-14
              w3-red w3-section" title="Decline">
              <i class="fa fa-remove"></i></button>
           </div>
         </div>
       </div>
    </div>
    <br>

    <div class="w3-card w3-round w3-purple w3-padding w3-center">
       <p>ADS</p>
    </div>
    <br>
</div> <!-- end right column -->

<!-- here is the closing div for class w3-row! -->

</div> <!-- end grid containing class w3-row -->

<!-- right here, if you have more table rows-like data content, -->
<!-- you can add another div containing a class w3-row -->

<!-- after all the data content for this particular row has been -->
<!-- included, you can close out this div containing class w3-row -->

<!-- you can keep repeating this pattern over and over as you -->
<!-- need to make your website looks like table rows-like content! -->

<!-- the rows have to be inside the closing of the div that -->
<!-- contains w3-container! -->

<!-- here is the closing div that contains class w3-container! -->

</div> <!-- end page container -->

<!-- at this point all open div tags have been closed -->


<!-- so the grid system is very simple. -->
<!-- it only contains two classes: w3-container and w3-row -->
<!-- that's all! -->

<!-- anything inside the grid are just ordinary html elements: -->
<!-- div, p, span, etc. -->
<!-- as you can see from the above grid, -->
<!-- it contains only one w3-container and one w3-row -->
<!-- that's all! -->

<!-- here is the last section of the website: footer -->

<!-- start footer -->

<footer class="w3-container w3-theme-d3 w3-padding-16">
   <div>Follow us on social medias: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram!</div>
   <div class="w3-right">Contact: john@doe.com</div>
</footer>


<script>
// Accordion
function myFunction(id)
    {
     var x = document.getElementById(id);
     if (x.className.indexOf("w3-show") == -1)
        {
         x.className += " w3-show";
         x.previousElementSibling.className += " w3-theme-d1";
        }
     else
        {
         x.className = x.className.replace("w3-show", "");
         x.previousElementSibling.className =
         x.previousElementSibling.className.replace(" w3-theme-d1", "");
        }
    }


// used to toggle on smaller screen when clicking on the menu button
function openNav()
    {
     var x = document.getElementById("navDemo");
     if (x.className.indexOf("w3-show") == -1)
        {
         x.className += " w3-show";
        }
     else
        {
         x.className = x.className.replace(" w3-show", "");
        }
    }
</script>

</body>
</html>


/* Here is the listing of colors. see css file for more definitions */

/* Colors */

.w3-amber, .w3-hover-amber:hover{color:#000!important;
          background-color:#ffc107!important}
.w3-aqua,.w3-hover-aqua:hover{color:#000!important;
          background-color:#00ffff!important}
.w3-blue,.w3-hover-blue:hover{color:#fff!important;
          background-color:#2196F3!important}
.w3-light-blue,.w3-hover-light-blue:hover{color:#000!important;
          background-color:#87CEEB!important}
.w3-brown,.w3-hover-brown:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#795548!important}
.w3-cyan,.w3-hover-cyan:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#00bcd4!important}
.w3-blue-grey,.w3-hover-blue-grey:hover,.w3-blue-gray,
.w3-hover-blue-gray:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#607d8b!important}
.w3-green,.w3-hover-green:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#4CAF50!important}
.w3-light-green,.w3-hover-light-green:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#8bc34a!important}
.w3-indigo,.w3-hover-indigo:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#3f51b5!important}
.w3-khaki,.w3-hover-khaki:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#f0e68c!important}
.w3-lime,.w3-hover-lime:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#cddc39!important}
.w3-orange,.w3-hover-orange:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#ff9800!important}
.w3-deep-orange,.w3-hover-deep-orange:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#ff5722!important}
.w3-pink,.w3-hover-pink:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#e91e63!important}
.w3-purple,.w3-hover-purple:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#9c27b0!important}
.w3-deep-purple,.w3-hover-deep-purple:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#673ab7!important}
.w3-red,.w3-hover-red:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#f44336!important}
.w3-sand,.w3-hover-sand:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#fdf5e6!important}
.w3-teal,.w3-hover-teal:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#009688!important}
.w3-yellow,.w3-hover-yellow:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#ffeb3b!important}
.w3-white,.w3-hover-white:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#fff!important}
.w3-black,.w3-hover-black:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#000!important}
.w3-grey,.w3-hover-grey:hover,.w3-gray,
.w3-hover-gray:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#9e9e9e!important}
.w3-light-grey,.w3-hover-light-grey:hover,.w3-light-gray,
.w3-hover-light-gray:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#f1f1f1!important}
.w3-dark-grey,.w3-hover-dark-grey:hover,.w3-dark-gray,
.w3-hover-dark-gray:hover{color:#fff!important;
         background-color:#616161!important}
.w3-pale-red,.w3-hover-pale-red:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#ffdddd!important}
.w3-pale-green,.w3-hover-pale-green:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#ddffdd!important}
.w3-pale-yellow,.w3-hover-pale-yellow:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#ffffcc!important}
.w3-pale-blue,.w3-hover-pale-blue:hover{color:#000!important;
         background-color:#ddffff!important}

.w3-text-amber,.w3-hover-text-amber:hover{color:#ffc107!important}
.w3-text-aqua,.w3-hover-text-aqua:hover{color:#00ffff!important}
.w3-text-blue,.w3-hover-text-blue:hover{color:#2196F3!important}
.w3-text-light-blue,.w3-hover-text-light-blue:hover{color:#87CEEB!important}
.w3-text-brown,.w3-hover-text-brown:hover{color:#795548!important}
.w3-text-cyan,.w3-hover-text-cyan:hover{color:#00bcd4!important}
.w3-text-blue-grey,.w3-hover-text-blue-grey:hover,.w3-text-blue-gray,
.w3-hover-text-blue-gray:hover{color:#607d8b!important}
.w3-text-green,.w3-hover-text-green:hover{color:#4CAF50!important}
.w3-text-light-green,.w3-hover-text-light-green:hover{color:#8bc34a!important}
.w3-text-indigo,.w3-hover-text-indigo:hover{color:#3f51b5!important}
.w3-text-khaki,.w3-hover-text-khaki:hover{color:#b4aa50!important}
.w3-text-lime,.w3-hover-text-lime:hover{color:#cddc39!important}
.w3-text-orange,.w3-hover-text-orange:hover{color:#ff9800!important}
.w3-text-deep-orange,.w3-hover-text-deep-orange:hover{color:#ff5722!important}
.w3-text-pink,.w3-hover-text-pink:hover{color:#e91e63!important}
.w3-text-purple,.w3-hover-text-purple:hover{color:#9c27b0!important}
.w3-text-deep-purple,.w3-hover-text-deep-purple:hover{color:#673ab7!important}
.w3-text-red,.w3-hover-text-red:hover{color:#f44336!important}
.w3-text-sand,.w3-hover-text-sand:hover{color:#fdf5e6!important}
.w3-text-teal,.w3-hover-text-teal:hover{color:#009688!important}
.w3-text-yellow,.w3-hover-text-yellow:hover{color:#d2be0e!important}
.w3-text-white,.w3-hover-text-white:hover{color:#fff!important}
.w3-text-black,.w3-hover-text-black:hover{color:#000!important}
.w3-text-grey,.w3-hover-text-grey:hover,.w3-text-gray,
.w3-hover-text-gray:hover{color:#757575!important}
.w3-text-light-grey,.w3-hover-text-light-grey:hover,
.w3-text-light-gray,.w3-hover-text-light-gray:hover{color:#f1f1f1!important}
.w3-text-dark-grey,.w3-hover-text-dark-grey:hover,
.w3-text-dark-gray,.w3-hover-text-dark-gray:hover{color:#3a3a3a!important}

/* can you make sense of the above color definitions? */

/* let's take the last color definition above: the last line! */

.w3-text-dark-gray,.w3-hover-text-dark-gray:hover{color:#3a3a3a!important}

/* format it like this for a better visualization: */

.w3-text-dark-gray,
.w3-hover-text-dark-gray:hover
    {
     color:#3a3a3a!important
    }

/* there are two classes: one is w3-text-dard-gray and the other */
/* is w3-hover-text-dark-gray which is attached to a hover mouse event. */
/* both of these two classes are assigned a color of a dark-gray */
/* which is #3a3a3a */
/* disregard the word "!important" for now. you can learn more in */
/* the css tutorial provided by W3Schools */

/* if you decide to add your own css definition, just add them to */
/* the bottom of the w3.css file. */

/* for example, if you find that the pre-made colors provided by */
/* W3Schools are not enough to your liking, you can add more color */
/* definitions to w3.css file like this: */

.w3-slate-gray
    {
     /** don't forget to put "!important" as well! **/
     color:#ebe2e1!important
    }

/* you can add other definitions to w3.css file as well because */
/* w3.css is only a css file framework that contains the universal */
/* commonly used definitions. */
/* so you most certainly need to add your own css defitions to */
/* the w3.css file */

/* A SECRET TO MEMORIZING CSS ATTRIBUTES or PROPERTIES */

/* one of the most confusing things in CSS is memorizing */
/* attributes/properties */

/* what if you have an attribute that says: */
/* padding: 10px 5px 20px 10px */

/* what does that mean? */

/* it means the padding property has four values:

   top padding is 10px
   right padding is 5px
   bottom padding is 20px
   left padding is 10px
*/

/* so how do you remember them? */
/* by brute force? */
/* that's what most people do: remembering it by brute force! */

/* but there is an easier way to remembering them and here's how: */

/* first, think of all HTML elements as a box. well, to be honest */
/* all HTML elements (div, p, span, a, button, i, etc) are boxes! */
/* and boxes have four sides and four corners! */

/* when you style an HTML element using padding you actually are */
/* styling the four sides and four corners! */
/* if you follow the definition above it says padding 10px 5px 20px 10px */

/* it basically tells you to follow the box sitting stationary upright */
/* starting from the top of the box, which is 10px in height, and */
/* then follow the box around, which is to the right side of the box! */

/* in the right side of the box is where you find a 5px wide space gap! */
/* now you're done with the right side of the box, so you continue on */
/* around the box, which is to the bottom of the box containing 20px in */
/* height! */

/* now you're at the bottom of the box and you continue to follow */
/* the box around, which is to the left side of the box containing */
/* a 10px wide gap! */

/* There you have it! a secret to memorizing the CSS attributes! */

/* what if you have something like the following illustrations? */
/* the same thing: follow the box! well, sort of! but you get the idea!

if the padding property has three values:

   padding: 25px 50px 75px;

   top padding is 25px
   right and left paddings are 50px
   bottom padding is 75px

above, start at the top of the box and move to the right side of the box!
now since right and left are together, it is a common value for both!

from there, you continue on around the box until all four sides are met!

if the padding property has two values:

   padding: 25px 50px;

   top and bottom paddings are 25px
   right and left paddings are 50px

this is where the rule is broken and makes an exception, but still not
too far from the rule!

top and bottom go together and right and left also go together!
as you can see, you follow the same box rule logic!

if the padding property has one value:

   padding: 25px;

   all four paddings are 25px

this one is not obvious to the human eyes but the browsers style it
using the box rule by first styling the top and then the right and
then the bottom and finally the left side of the box!
*/

/* YOUR OWN CSS DEFINITIONS */

/* most likely you will need to create your own CSS definitions */
/* to fullfil your needs! */

/* when you create your own definitions make sure that you use your */
/* own prefix and not the 'w3' prefix so that to avoid conflict! */

/* the color, padding, margin size, and text size are probably the */
/* most definitions you might need to create to fullfil your needs! */

/* for example, in most cases, you might need to style the left side */
/* margin only by using a 'my-padding-left-10 or my-margin-left-20 or
   whatever margin or padding size you need!

   .my-padding-left-10
       {
        /* here is where you specify the size */
        padding-left:10px!important;
       }

   .my-margin-left-20
       {
        /* here is where you specify the size */
        margin-left:20px!important;
       }
*/

/* there you have it! */
/* please check out tutorials at the W3Schools.com for more */
/* on this topic! */

For more about colors, please see my tutorial called an introduction to colors!

To get your own color check this out: color picker!

As mentioned earlier, the best place to advance your programming skills is the W3Schools. One particular topic that you might want to spend some time on learning is the image tutorial. You can learn how to place background images on your website as well as learning how to make your images work on mobile devices. So there are lots of topics available for you to improve your programming skills.

While you're at it learning about images, you might want to spend some time learning this important CSS class that makes displaying images awesome. The CSS class is called "clearfix" and can be found here: https://www.w3schools.com/howto/howto_css_clearfix.asp

Also, while you're at it learning about CSS, you might find these topics interesting and useful as well. Check the following topics out:

Best Free JavaScript & CSS/CSS3 Libraries For Modern Web Design

Spinners & Progress Bars

For more good stuffs, particularly photo galleries, sliders and plugins, please check out this site called https://www.jqueryscript.net/

There you have it! So go at it!!!

Incorporate Photo Slider in a Website for Beginners

First, you need to visit the jqueryscript.net mentioned above and browse through their sliders. Once you've decided which one you want, go ahead and download their plugin and go from there. Each plugin has a demo for you to see a preview of what it should look like. It also has a tutorial to help you incorporate it in your website.

For this tutorial, I chose one of the jquery slider plugin that I found on the Internet and it is called CarouFredSel. Here is the link to that plugin: https://github.com/DivaVocals/carouFredSel

If you want to use this plugin, you need to download the plugin from the link mentioned above and extract it. The plugin as usual comes in a zip package, so you definitely need a zip software installed on your computer to extract it. See instruction on zip application earlier at the beginning of this tutorial.

Once you'd downloaded and extracted it, you can view the demo contains in file index.html inside the main folder called 'carouFredSel-master'. Just double-click on the file index.html and it will activate a demo screen showing the various styles of the slider that you can use to incorporate in your own website.

Let's incorporate that plugin in the example website shown above.

File: index.php

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Template</title>

<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

<!-- include jQuery + carouFredSel plugin -->

<!-- right here where you link to a jquery library that -->
<!-- is hosted in a Content Delivery Network or CDN -->

<!-- a CDN is just a central data network that mainly delivering -->
<!-- data content to users via a link! -->

<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"
src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.2/jquery.min.js"></script>

<!-- this CDN is owned by Google! -->
<!-- so Google is hosting the jquery library for everyone to link to -->
<!-- and use it instead of embedding that jquery library in their own script! -->

<!-- personally, I recommend that you embedd jquery library in your own -->
<!-- script instead of linking to a CDN! -->

<!-- to embedd a jquery library in your own script, do like the following -->
<!-- assuming you'd downloaded the jquery and place that library in a folder -->
<!-- called js/jquery -->

<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"
src="js/jquery/jquery.min.js"></script>

<!-- to download the jquery library you -->
<!-- need to go to the jquery website: -->
<!-- https://jquery.com/download/ -->

<!-- click on the "Download the compressed, production" -->
<!-- and just hilight the whole file content and -->
<!-- copy and paste it in a blank file and name it accordingly! -->

<!-- in my case above, I named the jquery library file name to -->
<!-- 'jquery.min.js'  -->

<!-- do not include both the CDN and the embedded library at the -->
<!-- same time because it might cause problems! -->
<!-- so use one or the other and not both of them at the same time! -->

<!-- next is the link to the carouFredSel library stored in the -->
<!-- plugin folder called carouFredSel-master -->

<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"
src="jquery.carouFredSel-6.2.1-packed.js"></script>

<!-- optionally include helper plugins -->

<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"
src="helper-plugins/jquery.mousewheel.min.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"
src="helper-plugins/jquery.touchSwipe.min.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"
src="helper-plugins/jquery.transit.min.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"
src="helper-plugins/jquery.ba-throttle-debounce.min.js"></script>

<link rel="stylesheet" href="./css/mobile.css">

<link rel="stylesheet"
      href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/4.6.3/
                                        css/font-awesome.min.css">
<link rel="stylesheet"
      href="http://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/twitter-bootstrap/
                                        3.2.0/css/bootstrap.min.css">

<script src="https://code.jquery.com/w3/1.4.5/jquery.w3-1.4.5.min.js">
</script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="javascript/javascript.js">
</script>

<!-- start plugin onDocumentReady -->

<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">

$(function()
      {
       // Responsive layout, resizing the items
       $('#foo4').carouFredSel(
                               {
                                responsive: true,
                                width: '100%',
                                scroll: 2,
                                items:
                                     {
                                      // the sliding content's width
                                      // if you set it to half the
                                      // screen size it will show two
                                      // images at a time.

                                      // if you set it to full screen
                                      // (1000 pixels) it will show one
                                      // image at a time.

                                      width: 400,

                                      // commenting out the optionally
                                      // resize item-height option
                                      // height: '30%',

                                      visible:
                                             {
                                              min: 2,
                                              max: 6
                                             }
                                     }
                               }
                              );
      }
</script>

<style type="text/css" media="all">
.list_carousel
     {
      background-color: #ccc;
      margin: 0 0 30px 60px;
      width: 360px;
     }

.list_carousel ul
     {
      margin: 0;
      padding: 0;
      list-style: none;
      display: block;
     }

.list_carousel li
     {
      font-size: 40px;
      color: #999;
      text-align: center;
      background-color: #eee;
      border: 5px solid #999;
      width: 50px;
      height: 50px;
      padding: 0;
      margin: 6px;
      display: block;
      float: left;
     }

.list_carousel.responsive
     {
      width: auto;
      margin-left: 0;
     }

.clearfix
     {
      float: none;
      clear: both;
     }

.prev
     {
      float: left;
      margin-left: 10px;
     }

.next
     {
      float: right;
      margin-right: 10px;
     }
</style>
</head>

<body class="w3-theme-l5 w3-light-grey">

<!-- some of the following codes were broken down into multiple lines -->
<!-- to fit the screen display -->

<!-- Navbar -->

<!-- this is the div that wraps around the navbar -->

<div class="w3-top">

  <div class="w3-bar w3-theme-d2 w3-left-align w3-small w3-blue">
     <a class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hide-medium w3-hide-large w3-right
                  w3-padding-small w3-hover-white w3-small w3-theme-d2"
                  href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="openNav()">
                  <i class="fa fa-bars"></i></a>

    <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-padding-large w3-theme-d4">
                   <i class="fa fa-home w3-margin-right"></i>Logo</a>

    <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hide-small w3-padding-large
                   w3-hover-white" title="News"><i class="fa fa-globe"></i></a>

    <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hide-small w3-padding-large
        w3-hover-white" title="Account Settings"><i class="fa fa-user"></i></a>

    <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hide-small w3-padding-large
               w3-hover-white" title="Messages"><i class="fa fa-envelope"></i>

    <div class="w3-dropdown-hover w3-hide-small">
      <button class="w3-button w3-padding-large" title="Notifications">
           <i class="fa fa-bell"></i>
           <span class="w3-badge w3-right w3-small w3-green">3</span>
      </button>

      <div class="w3-dropdown-content w3-card-4 w3-bar-block"
              style="width:300px">
         <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button">One new friend request</a>
         <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button">John Doe posted on
              your wall</a>
         <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button">Jane likes your post</a>
      </div>
    </div>

    <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-hide-small w3-right
       w3-padding-medium w3-hover-white" title="My Account">
       <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" class="w3-circle"
       style="height:23px;width:23px" alt="Avatar"> </a>
  </div>

</div> <!-- end div class="w3-top" -->

<!-- Navbar on small screens -->

<div id="navDemo" class="w3-bar-block w3-theme-d2 w3-hide
   w3-hide-large w3-hide-medium w3-large">
   <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-padding-large">Link 1</a>
   <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-padding-large">Link 2</a>
   <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-padding-large">Link 3</a>
   <a href="#" class="w3-bar-item w3-button w3-padding-large">My Profile</a>
</div>

<!-- now the navbar code is done! -->

<!-- at this point there are 0 open <div> tag -->


<!-- Slider Container -->

<div class="w3-container w3-content" style="max-width:1400px; margin-top:40px">
   <div class="list_carousel responsive">

      <!-- right here where the content of the slider is placed -->
      <!-- notice that you can put any kind of content such as -->
      <!-- text, images, etc., and as many content as you wish! -->
      <!-- the slider will circle through the content until the end and loops -->
      <!-- back to the beginning of the list! -->

      <!-- the display of the images is dependenced on the size of the window -->
      <!-- you set in the options of the function carouFredSel() above! -->
      <!-- in the example above it was set to width: 400! -->

      <ul id="foo4">
         <li><img src="image/picture1.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture2.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture3.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture4.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture5.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture6.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture7.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture8.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture9.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture10.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture11.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture12.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture13.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture14.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture15.jpg"></li>
         <li><img src="image/picture16.jpg"></li>
      </ul>

      <!-- for more tutorial on class "clearfix" please visit -->
      <!-- https://www.w3schools.com/howto/howto_css_clearfix.asp -->

      <div class="clearfix"></div>

   </div>
</div>


<!-- Page Container -->

<div class="w3-container w3-content" style="max-width:1400px; margin-top:80px">

  <!-- The Grid -->

  <!-- here is the row! -->

  <div class="w3-row">

    <!-- Left Column -->

    <div class="w3-col m3 w3-container">

      <!-- Profile -->

      <div class="w3-card w3-round w3-light-blue">

        <div class="w3-container">
          <h4 class="w3-center">My Profile</h4>
            <p class="w3-center"><img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg"
               class="w3-circle" style="height:106px;width:106px"
               alt="A Profile Picture"></p>
               <hr>
            <p><i class="fa fa-pencil fa-fw w3-margin-right
               w3-text-theme"></i> Designer, UI</p>
            <p><i class="fa fa-home fa-fw w3-margin-right
               w3-text-theme"></i> Minneapolis, MN (US)</p>
            <p><i class="fa fa-birthday-cake fa-fw w3-margin-right
               w3-text-theme"></i> April 1, 2020</p>
        </div>
       </div>
       <br>

<!-- Accordion -->

      <div class="w3-card w3-round">
        <div class="w3-pale-blue">

          <button onclick="myFunction('Demo1')" class="w3-button
             w3-block w3-theme-l1 w3-left-align">
             <i class="fa fa-circle-onotch fa-fw w3-margin-right">
              My Groups</i></button>

          <div id="Demo1" class="w3-hide w3-container">
             <p>Some text..</p>
          </div>

          <button onclick="myFunction('Demo2')" class="w3-button w3-block
             w3-theme-l1 w3-left-align"><i class="fa fa-calendar-check-0
             fa-fw w3-margin-right"> My Events</i></button>

          <div id="Demo2" class="w3-hide w3-container">
             <p>Some other text..</p>
          </div>

          <button onclick="myFunction('Demo3')" class="w3-button
             w3-block w3-theme-l1 w3-left-align">
             <i class="fa fa-user fa-fw w3-margin-right"> My Photos
             </i></button>

          <!-- class w3-container is used to hold the photos album layout -->
          
          <!-- "My Photos" button! -->

          <div id="Demo3" class="w3-hide w3-container">
            <div class="w3-row-padding">
               <br>

               <!-- the following is where you put your photo album! -->

               <!-- class w3-half is a grid layout as a two-column -->
               <!-- layout relative to the class w3-container used -->
               <!-- in the album layout so the photos are arranged -->
               <!-- side by side as a two-column layout -->

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="./image/graduation.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <!-- this is another two-column grid stacking below above -->

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="./image/graduation.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <!-- this is another two-column grid stacking below above -->

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="image/example5.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="w3-half">
                  <img src="image/graduation.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                          class="w3-margin-bottom">
               </div>
            </div>  <!-- end div class="w3-row-padding" -->
          </div>  <!-- end div id="Demo3" -->
        </div>  <!-- end div class="w3-white" -->
      </div>  <!-- end div class="w3-card w3-round" -->

<!-- this is the end of an accordion-like feature! -->

<!-- at this point there are still 3 open div -->

<!-- Interest: the miscellaneous content of interest! -->

<!-- w3-hide-small is to not display the content when mobile -->
<!-- device is used to load the web site! so "Interests" content -->
<!-- won't be loaded if mobile device is being used to load -->
<!-- this web site -->

<div class="w3-card w3-round w3-teal w3-hide-small">
   <div class="w3-container">
      <p>Interests</p>

      <p>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-d5">News</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-d4">W3Schools</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-d3">Labels</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-d2">Games</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-d1">Friends</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme">Games</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-l1">Friends</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-l2">Food</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-l3">Design</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-l4">Art</span>
         <span class="w3-tag w3-small w3-theme-l5">Photos</span>
      </p>
   </div>
</div>

</div> <!-- end left column -->

<!-- at this point there are still 2 open <div> tags -->

<!-- start middle column -->

<div class="w3-col m7">

  <!-- right here where I add some new content to the middle column -->

  <!-- I add a scrolling message board to make it more flashy. for example: -->

  <div class="w3-row-padding">

    <!-- notice that you need to use the entire length of the grid: m12 -->
    <!-- meaning the entire middle column -->

    <div class="w3-col m12">

    <div class="w3-card-2 w3-round w3-white">
      <div class="w3-container w3-padding">

         <marquee bgcolor=white width="100%" height="50">
            <font size="5" color="#FF66FF">
            Welcome to the 21st century and beyond where digital mobile rules!</font>
            &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
            &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
            <font size="5" color="#1883FF">More content to scroll!</font>
         </marquee>

     </div>
    </div>
   </div>
  </div>
 
   <div class="w3-row-padding">
      <div class="w3-col m12">
         <div class="w3-card w3-round w3-white">
            <div class="w3-container w3-padding">
               <h6 class="w3-opacity">Social Media Template</h6>
                  <p contenteditable="true" class="w3-border
                      w3-padding">Status: Feeling blue!</p>
                  <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme">
                       <i class="fa fa-pencil"></i> Post
                  </button>
             </div>
          </div>
       </div>
    </div>

    <div class="w3-container w3-card w3-round w3-blue w3-margin">
      <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" alt="Avatar" class="w3-left
              w3-circle w3-margin-right" style="width:60px">
      <span class="w3-right w3-opacity">1 min</span>

      <h4>John Doe</h4>

      <hr class="w3-clear">

      <p>This is just an ordinary content! You can put whatever
            content you want!</p>

      <div class="w3-row-padding" style="margin:0 -16px">
         <!-- 
         <div class="w3-half">
            <img src="./image/graduation.jpg" alt="just a picturer"
                    style="width: 100%" class="w3-margin-bottom">
         </div>

         <div class="w3-half">
            <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" alt="another picture"
                    style="width: 100%" class="w3-margin-bottom">
         </div>
         -->
      </div>

      <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d1 w3-margin-bottom">
            <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up"></i> Like</button>
      <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d2 w3-margin-bottom">
            <i class="fa fa-comment"></i> Comment</button>
    </div>

    <div class="w3-container w3-card w3-round w3-khaki w3-margin"><br>
       <!--
       <img src="./image/graduation.jpg" alt="Avatar" class="w3-left
               w3-circle w3-margin-right" style="width:60px">
       -->
       <span class="w3-right w3-opacity">16 min</span>

       <h4>Jane Doe</h4>

       <hr class="w3-clear">

       <p>Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor.
             Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor.</p>

       <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d1 w3-margin-bottom">
             <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up"></i> Like</button>
       <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d2 w3-margin-bottom">
             <i class="fa fa-comment"></i> Comment</button>
    </div>

The following block of code contained in the original template

<!--

    <div class="w3-container w3-card w3-round w3-lime w3-margin"><br>

       <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" alt="Avatar" class="w3-left
          w3-circle w3-margin-right" style="width:60px">

       <span class="w3-right w3-opacity">30 min</span>

       <h4>Angie Jane

       <hr class="w3-clear">

       <img src="./image/gradution.jpg" class="w3-margin-bottom"
               style="width:100%">

       <p>Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor.
             Lorem ipsum dolor. Lorem ipsum dolor.</p>

       <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d1 w3-margin-bottom">
             <i class="fa fa-thumbs-up"></i> Like</button>
       <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-d2 w3-margin-bottom">
             <i class="fa fa-comment"></i> Comment</button>
    </div>
-->

<!-- Accordion -->

      <div class="mobile-card mobile-round">
        <div class="mobile-pale-blue">

          <button onclick="myFunction('group')"
              class="mobile-button mobile-block mobile-theme-l1
              mobile-left-align">
              <i class="fa fa-circle-onotch fa-fw
              mobile-margin-right"> My Groups</i>
          </button>

          <div id="group" class="mobile-hide mobile-container">
              <p>Some text..</p>
          </div>

          <button onclick="accordion('event')"
             class="mobile-button mobile-block mobile-theme-l1
             mobile-left-align">
             <i class="fa fa-calendar-check-0 fa-fw
             mobile-margin-right"> My Events</i>
          </button>

          <div id="event" class="mobile-hide mobile-container">
              <p>Some other text..</p>
          <div>

          <span class="hljs-string"><button onclick="accordion('photo')"
                class="mobile-button mobile-block mobile-theme-l1
                mobile-left-align"><i class="fa fa-user
                fa-fw mobile-margin-right"> My Photos</i>
          </button>

          <div id="photo" class="mobile-hide mobile-container">
            <div class="mobile-row-padding">
               <br>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg" style="width: 100%"
                  class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon_graduation.jpg"
                  style="width: 100%" class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon.jpg"
                  style="width: 100%" class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="./image/paul_tuon_graduation.jpg"
                  style="width: 100%" class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="image/paul_tuon.jpg"
                  style="width: 100%" class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>

               <div class="mobile-half">
                  <img src="image/paul_tuon_graduation.jpg"
                  style="width: 100%" class="mobile-margin-bottom">
               </div>
            </div>  <!-- end div class="mobile-row-padding" -->
          </div>  <!-- end div id="photo" -->
        </div>  <!-- end div class="mobile-pale-blue" -->
      </div>  <!-- end div class="mobile-card mobile-round" -->

   <!-- end accordion style feature! -->

</div> <!-- end middle column -->

<!-- start right column -->

<!-- here it is: right column is 2/12 of the grid -->

<div class="w3-col m2">
   <div class="w3-card w3-round w3-aqua w3-center">
      <div class="w3-container">
         <p>Upcoming Events:</p>

         <img src="./image/image_105.jpg" class="w3-margin-bottom"
                 style="width:100%">

         <p><strong>Holiday</strong></p>
         <p>Friday 15:00</p>
         <p><button type="button" class="w3-button w3-theme-14
            w3-block">Info</button></p>
      </div>
    </div>

    <div class="w3-card w3-round w3-pink w3-center">
      <iv class="w3-container">
         <p>Friend Request</p>
         <!--
         <img src="./image/graduation.jpg" class="w3-margin-bottom"
                 style="width:50%">
         -->
         <span>Jane Doe</span>
         <div class="w3-row w3-opacity">

           <div class="w3-half">
              <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-block-14
              w3-green w3-section" title="Accept">
              <i class="fa fa-check"></i></button>
           </div>

           <div class="w3-half">
              <button type="button" class="w3-button w3-block-14
              w3-red w3-section" title="Decline">
              <i class="fa fa-remove"></i></button>
           </div>
         </div>
       </div>
    </div>
    <br>

    <div class="w3-card w3-round w3-purple w3-padding w3-center">
       <p>ADS</p>
    </div>
    <br>
</div> <!-- end right column -->

<!-- here is the closing div for class w3-row! -->

</div> <!-- end grid containing class w3-row -->

<!-- here is the closing div that contains class w3-container! -->

</div> <!-- end page container -->


<!-- here is the last section of the website: footer -->

<!-- start footer -->

<footer class="w3-container w3-theme-d3 w3-padding-16">
   <div>Follow us on social medias: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram!</div>
   <div class="w3-right">Contact: john@doe.com</div>
</footer>


<script>
// Accordion
function myFunction(id)
    {
     var x = document.getElementById(id);
     if (x.className.indexOf("w3-show") == -1)
        {
         x.className += " w3-show";
         x.previousElementSibling.className += " w3-theme-d1";
        }
     else
        {
         x.className = x.className.replace("w3-show", "");
         x.previousElementSibling.className =
         x.previousElementSibling.className.replace(" w3-theme-d1", "");
        }
    }


// used to toggle on smaller screen when clicking on the menu button
function openNav()
    {
     var x = document.getElementById("navDemo");
     if (x.className.indexOf("w3-show") == -1)
        {
         x.className += " w3-show";
        }
     else
        {
         x.className = x.className.replace(" w3-show", "");
        }
    }
</script>

</body>
</html>


/* there you have it! */
/* a responsive mobile image slider */
/* when the website is loaded using a mobile */
/* device the slider showing one image sliding */
/* at a time! */

/* again, check out the plugin website mentioned earlier */
/* to find all kinds of plugins to use on your website! */
b
/* go at it! */

Incorporate Fontawesome in a Website for Beginners

Fontawesome is a collection of ready-made images available to anyone for free. For a visual view on some examples of fontawesome images, go to my other website called "MondayThruSunday.COM," and look in all of the menu items and there should be a fontawesome in the front of the menu name for each menu item.

For example, for a menu name called "Home," there is a fontawesome image looking like a house in the front of the word "Home"; for a menu name called "Search," there is a fontawesome image looking like a magnifying glass in the front of the word "Search"; for a menu name called "Signup," there is a fontawesome image looking like three horizontal hash bars in the front of the word "Signup."

Fontawesomes are easy to use and most of all, you don't need to download them from somewhere and install them on your computer. They are available via the browser technology and the HTML.

To use fontawesomes, all you have to do is include the link to a CDN and then referring to its name as a class name inside your HTML element document -- the same way you refer to your CSS class names. See an illustration below.

Fontawesome images class starts with the word "fa fa-." For examples:

In the head <head> section of your HTML file, include the below link:

<link rel="stylesheet"
href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/4.6.3/css/font-awesome.min.css">

Again, a CDN (or Content Delivery Network) is just a central data

network that mainly delivering data content to users via a link!

Note that there are hundreds of CDNs out there that you can link to.
The above link is just one of those. Google has one and so does Bootstrap.
Here is a CDN from Bootstrap:

<link rel="stylesheet"
href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/font-awesome/4.4.0/css/font-awesome.min.css">

So it is just a matter of preference of which CDN to use and all will work just fine!

After you included the link, you can refer to the font awesome images as
you normally would the same way you refer to a CSS class. For example:

In the body <body> section of your HTML file, do this:

<div class="fa fa-home"></div>      will display an image of a house: 


<div class="fa fa-home"> Home</div>      will display: 
 Home

<div class="fa fa-bars"></div>  will display an image of three horizontal hash bars: 


<div class="fa fa-search"></div>    will display an image of a magnifying glass: 


<div class="fa fa-check"></div>     will display an image of a checkmark: 
 

<div class="fa fa-globe"></div>     will display an image of a globe: 


<div class="fa fa-cart-arrow-down"></div>  will display an image of a shopping cart: 


<div class="fa fa-plus"></div>      will display an image of a plus sign: 

There are thousands of fontawesome images available on the Internet for free to use. Just Google the term "fontawesome" and it will give a lot of results to choose from.

Earlier, I mentioned that you don't need to download fontawesome images anywhere from the Internet. That is true for the standard fontawesome images that are provided by the World Wide Web consortium.

However, for thousands of specialized third party fontawesome images like specialized shopping cart [where you can customize the inter-activity of the cart] and others, you need to download them from the Internet and store them in your folders and refer to them accordingly.

All CDNs do the same thing: they gather all of the fontawesome images and store them in a directory on their server and provide a link to the public to link to.

For more about fontawesome tutorials, please check out this site: https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_icons.asp

Here is another excellent fontawesome tutorial: https://www.w3resource.com/icon/font-awesome/web-application-icons/cart-arrow-down.php

Here is the official site of the standard fontawesome consortium site: https://fontawesome.com/icons/cart-arrow-down

Here is the official site of the standard fontawesome consortium site that lists a fontawesome cheat sheet that you can basically find a particular fontawesome image quickly: https://fontawesome.com/cheatsheet?from=io

Advancing Your Programming Skills: CSS Badge

Here is an interesting topic that you might find very useful: CSS Badge

/** showing the number of items in the cart **/

/** here, assuming you have a shopping cart that has a **/
/** variable called $cart_count that holds the number of  **/
/** items in the cart **/

cart<a href="#"><span class="badge" id="cart-count"><?=$cart_count?></span></a>

For more tutorial on "badge" please click on the link below!

CSS Badge

Advancing Your Programming Skills

As mentioned earlier multiple times, the best place to advance your programming skills is the W3Schools. One of the many topics that you might want to spend some time on learning is the "dialog modal" box tutorial that can be found here: https://www.w3schools.com/bootstrap/bootstrap_modal.asp. With the modal dialog box, you can put all kinds of content to make your users interact with it.

Here are some of the interesting topics that you might want to spend some time learning:

https://www.w3schools.com/bootstrap/bootstrap_carousel.asp https://www.w3schools.com/bootstrap/bootstrap_affix.asp https://www.w3schools.com/bootstrap/bootstrap_glyphicons.asp https://www.w3schools.com/bootstrap/bootstrap_pagination.asp https://www.w3schools.com/bootstrap/bootstrap_images.asp https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_image_gallery.asp https://www.w3schools.com/css/css3_text_effects.asp https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_entities.asp

So there are lots of topics available for you to improve your programming skills. So go at it!!!

Simple Tricks

When you program websites, you might run into situations that require you to be creative instead of using CSS to accomplish your tasks. One of the neat trick is to use non-breaking space command or &nbsp; to put some spaces between your content, as the "<marquee></marquee>" example below shows.

One &nbsp; is approximately equals to 10 pixels. As you can see in the example below, it requires a lot of &nbsp; to make the spaces wide enough.

The drawback of using &nbsp; instead of CSS is that it is very cluttered and messy; however, it is much quicker and easier than having to write CSS definitions.

Sometimes you can't write CSS definitions to fit your goal as in my case below. So you are left to use &nbsp; to accomplish the task.

Nonetheless, be very careful using &nbsp; instead of CSS because in mobile devices it might not display very well, especially if you have lots of &nbsp;.

So use it sparingly is the best way to use it. Don't over-use it!

In my case, it works very well on any mobile devices.

So there you have it! A very neat trick to use!!!

A Bonus: A Simple Trick to Scroll Contents

Here is a very simple trick to make your website looks awesome.

You won't see this trick anywhere in the document or tutorials
anywhere but only right here from me.

I use this trick on my own websites on a regular basis.

Here it is:

<div style="width: 700px; height: auto; background-color: #ffdddd;
            padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px"><marquee>Content to scroll!</marquee>
</div>

The tag is called "<marquee></marquee>"

This simple tag scrolls continuously any content you put in it!

You can put this "<marquee></marquee>" tag anywhere as a
standalone or inside any HTML elements: <div>, <span>, <p>, etc.

You can also style your <marquee> content, such as
configuring the width and height and background color, etc.

Here is the same code that I use on my website: ZeroNilZilch.COM.

Notice that I embedded the styling code directly in the <marquee></marquee> as
appose to putting it in the <div></div> or other HTML elements.

It is just a personal preference and any HTML elements will work just fine.

As you can see, I had to use lots of &nbsp; to make enough spaces between contents!

The listing of &nbsp; between contents is a continuous line, but here,
it is broken down into multiple lines for displaying purpose!

<marquee bgcolor="white" width="100%" height="50">
   <font size="5" color="#00FF99">www.ZeroNilZilch.COM</font>&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   <font size="5" color="#3333FF">Where the future is already here!</font>
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   <font size="5" color="#00FFFF">Explore, see the horizon,
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   open your mind and let your curiosity run wild,
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   discover, inspire and enrich your learning!!!</font>
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   <font size="5" color="#3333FF">The engine of your inginuity is limited only to
                                  your imagination!!!</font>
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   <font size="5" color="#FF66FF">
   Welcome to the 21st century and beyond where digital mobile rules!</font>
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   <font size="5" color="#1883FF">
   This website and all of our affiliate sites are mobile-friendly!</font>
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   <font size="5" color="#00FFFF">
   This means that you can use your mobile phones or any portable
   small device to surf and shop with us conveniently and securely at all of our
   affiliate sites!!!</font>
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   <font size="5" color="#FF66FF">They're built for the Millenials,
   where all things Millenial, the Millenials' way!!</font>
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
   <font size="5" color="#3333FF">Go ahead and fire up your smartphones and load
   this website and see if it's mobile-friendly or not!</font>
</marquee>

A Simple Trick to Display Text Vertically

Here is a very simple trick to make your texts appear vertically as well as other text effects that you might find useful. Please check these out:

https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css3_pr_writing-mode.asp https://www.w3schools.com/css/css_align.asp https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/pr_text_text-decoration.asp https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css3_pr_transform.asp https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css3_pr_transition.asp https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/tryit.asp?filename=trycss_zindex

A Simple Trick to Display Navigation Bar Using HTML NAV Tag

Here is a very simple trick to make your navigation bar works on mobile devices. On desktop it will display the menu items horizontally but on mobile devices, it will display them vertically.

Note that on mobile devices, the menu bar will be cleared all of menu items and a fontawesome fa fa-bars: is used instead in place of the menu items and the fa fa-bars is shown on the menu bar as a button to click.

When a user clicks on the fa fa-bars symbol it opens up the menu items listing the menu items vertically and neatly.

Just list your menu items to make it work on desktop devices as you normally would and the browser technology takes care of the mobile devices display behind the scene for you so that you don't need to do any special tricks:

There you have it! A secret way to beautify your website!!!

A Simple Trick to a Mobile-friendly Website

Here is a very simple trick to make your website mobile-friendly. First of all, this is just a simple trick that is suited to some small situations where CSS is too complicated and too bulky to use. This trick works very well when you have a section of the code needs to handle small mobile devices and another section next to it can be used for desktop devices. For example:

<?php
/** this is a special trick that you'll never see from **/
/** any documentation or tutorials anywhere, period! **/

/** here is the special trick using a combination of PHP and Javascript: **/

echo "<script language='javascript'>

/** you need a space between the echo " and location **/

echo " location.href=\"${_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME']}?${_SERVER['QUERY_STRING']}"
      . "&width=\" + screen.width + \"&height=\" + screen.height;\n";
echo "</script>\n";

/** basically, the code above picks out the width and height **/
/** of the device using Javascript screen object and just **/
/** referring to the object's property: width and height! **/
/** very neat and simple! **/

/** the reference to 'location.href' is just reading the url's **/
/** incoming request and picking off the querystring at **/
/** the same time! **/

/** okay, let's see how it works! **/

/** first, you test the size of the device **/

/** in other words, when the browser hits this code above, **/
/** it checks to see what size the device is. **/

/** if it is a desktop device being used to surf this website, **/
/** it will execute the area of the code designed to be used on desktop! **/

/** if it is a mobile device being used to surf this website, **/
/** it will execute the area of the code designed to be used on mobile **/
/** devices **/

/** this is much simpler than having to write CSS definitions **/
/** it works just as good as if you had written a CSS definition to **/
/** do the job! **/

/** as a matter of fact, the groups that wrote the CSS rules to **/
/** make CSS definitions mobile-friendly used this same technique to **/
/** detect the devices to make their CSS rule do the job **/
/** of detecting the various mobile size! **/

/** they called it media definition that looks like this: **/

@media (max-width: 480px)
     {
      .nav-collapse
           {
            -webkit-transform: translate3d(0, 0, 0);
           }
      .page-header h1 small
           {
            display: block;
            line-height: 20px;
           }
     }

/** but first, you need to test if the browser can read **/
/** the dimensions of the device being used to surf the webpage! **/

/** all browsers returns a width and height of the device being **/
/** used every time it loads the webpage! **/

/** but we need to use a special trick that you'll never see from **/
/** any documentation or tutorials anywhere, period! **/

/** here is a special trick using a combination of PHP and Javascript: **/

<?php
if (isset($_GET['width']) AND isset($_GET['height']))
   {
    global $width;
    global $height;
    // grab the geometry variables
    $width  = $_GET['width'];
    $height = $_GET['height'];
    if ($width > 600)
       {
        // desktop device! prepare code to be used on desktop!
?>
        <!-- left column -->
        <div class="mobile-col m3">

            <!-- display left column content for desktop! -->

        </div>
        <!-- end left column -->

        <!-- middle column -->
        <div class="mobile-col m7">

            <!-- display middle column content for desktop! -->

        </div>
        <!-- end middle column -->

        <!-- right column -->
        <div class="mobile-col m2">

            <!-- display right column content for desktop! -->

        </div>
        <!-- end right column -->
<?php
       } // end if $width > 600
    else
       {
        // mobile devices! prepare code to be used on mobile devices!

        // notice that inside this mobile section, you still need to
        // use CSS to style the content to be mobile-friendly!

        // I told you earlier that this simple trick doesn't do all of
        // your mobile-friendly works! it does for certain situations only!
        // you can use both this trick and CSS definitions to your advantage!
?>
        <!-- left column -->
        <div class="mobile-col m3">

            <!-- display left column content for desktop! -->

        </div>
        <!-- end left column -->

        <!-- middle column -->
        <div class="mobile-col m7">

            <!-- display middle column content for desktop! -->

        </div>
        <!-- end middle column -->

        <!-- right column -->
        <div class="mobile-col m2">

            <!-- display right column content for desktop! -->

        </div>
        <!-- end right column -->
<?php
       } // end else if $width > 600
   } // end if (isset($_GET['width']) AND isset($_GET['height']))
else
   {
    // pass the geometry variables (preserve the original query string
    echo "<script language='javascript'>\n";
    echo " location.href=\"${_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME']}?${_SERVER['QUERY_STRING']}"
           . "&width=\" + screen.width + \"&height=\" + screen.height;\n";
    echo "</script>\n";

    // if for some reasons that the browser fails to grab the dimensions
    // it will come here and you can handle that case accordingly!

    // that situation is very rare! this code above always returns
    // the dimensions!

    // desktop device! prepare code to be used on desktop!
?>
        <!-- left column -->
        <div class="mobile-col m3">

            <!-- display left column content for desktop! -->

        </div>
        <!-- end left column --<

        <!-- middle column -->
        <div class="mobile-col m7">

            <!-- display middle column content for desktop! -->

        </div>
        <!-- end middle column -->

        <!-- right column -->
        <div class="mobile-col m2">

            <!-- display right column content for desktop! -->

        </div>
        <!-- end right column -->
<?php
   }
?>

There you have it! A secret way to beautify your website by making it mobile-friendly!!!

Analytics Tools For Tracking Your Visitors

Here is an interesting topic that you might find very useful: Tracking Visitors of Your Website

You can write your own simple cookies code to capture your website visitors or use the professionally-made tools and here are a few to choose from.

If you want to write your own simple cookies code to capture your website visitors, check the following out:

Create A Simple PageView Counter Using PHP and MySQL

Seriously? Really? The code above was being written in the year 2020? Am I seeing it right?

The old MySQL API was deprecated in the year 2015 and the code above was being written in the year 2020?

Amazingly, even the code was being written in May 2020 and the author still uses the old MySQL API that has been deprecated a long time ago and it has no longer in used ever since.

Anyhow, to correct the problem, you need to rewrite the connection code in PDO. For a brief tutorial, see my other tutorial called "Introduction to PDO."

Here is a partial code found in the tutorial listed above that needs to be rewritten:

// the author is using a localhost for building and testing
// so you need to replace the db connection values accordingly
// when migrating to a "live" web hosting

$host = "localhost";
$username = "root";
$password = "";
$databasename = "sample";

$connect = mysql_connect($host, $username, $password);
$db = mysql_select_db($databasename);

// change the two lines above to the following:

$connect = new PDO(mysql:host=$host;dbname=$databasename",
                               $username, $password);

So look for a code fragment that says:

$check_ip = mysql_query("select userip from pageview
where page='yourpage' and userip='$user_ip'");

if (mysql_num_rows($check_ip)>=1)
   {
	
   }
else
   {
    $insertview = mysql_query("insert into pageview
    values('','yourpage','$user_ip')");
	$updateview = mysql_query("update totalview
    set totalvisit = totalvisit+1 where page='yourpage' ");
   }

Modify the above code to look like the following:

try
    {
     $sql = $connect->prepare("SELECT userip FROM pageview
            WHERE page = ':yourpage' AND userip = ':user_ip'");

     $check_ip = $sql->execute(array($yourpage, $user_ip));
    }
catch (PDOException $e)
    {
     echo 'ERROR: Cannot retrieve data. ' . $e->getMessage();
    }

if ($check_ip)
   {
    // found view counts and do nothing!
   }
else
   {
    // try to insert another visitor/pageview to the database
    try
        {
         $sql = $connect->prepare("INSERT INTO pageview
                          VALUES (?, ?)");

         $insertview = $sql->execute(array('page' => $yourpage,
                                           'userip' => $user_ip));
        }
    catch (PDOException $e)
        {
         echo 'ERROR: Cannot insert data. ' . $e->getMessage();
        }

    // also try to update visitor/pageview
    try
        {
         $totalvisit++;

         $sql = $connect->prepare("UPDATE totalview
                SET totalvisit = ? WHERE page = ? ");

         $updateview = $sql->execute(array($totalvisit, $yourpage));
        }
    catch (PDOException $e)
        {
         echo 'ERROR: Cannot update data. ' . $e->getMessage();
        }

// Change the following code accordingly:

<body>
  <?php
    // Use a SELECT query similar to the one shown above!

    $stmt = mysql_query("select totalvisit from totalview where page='yourpage' ");

    // The one line below can be replaced by the result from the SELECT query above!
    // Just put: echo $stmt . 'times.'
  ?>

  <p>This page is viewed <?php echo mysql_num_rows($stmt);?> times.</p>
</body>

The tutorial above mentioned a variable called $yourpage, which the author didn't explain how to get it. Here is how you assign value to variable $yourpage:

// take all of the following code beginning with the $protocol line and all the
// way to the end at the "$yourpage" line and place them at the top of the
// code example above right before the line that says: $host = "localhost";

// protocol = http or https
$protocol = stripos($_SERVER['SERVER_PROTOCOL'], 'https') === 0 ? 'https://' : 'http://';

// so instead of the above shortcut/simpler protocol code, you can use this much
// more robust and complete protocol code (by uncommenting the following three lines):

// $protocol = ((!empty($_SERVER['HTTPS']) && $_SERVER['HTTPS'] != 'off') ||
//             $_SERVER['SERVER_PORT'] == 443 ||
//             $_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PORT'] == 443) ? "https://" : "http://"

// if you uncomment the three lines above, remove the below port statement completely
// and also take out the variable $port in the $yourpage line (below) as well!

// or if you use the shortcut/simpler protocol code above, you can take out the
// variable $port below as well and it will work just fine!

// in both cases, including port is just not necessary as the computer already
// knows what port it is running on.

// so omitting port entirely will work just fine!

// for beginners, I suggest that you omit the port option to avoid specifying the
// wrong port and perhaps causing problems!

$port = ($_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"] == "80") ? "" : (":" . $_SERVER["SERVER_PORT"]);

$yourpage = $protocol .
            $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'] . $port . $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];

As you can see, now $yourpage contains your actual page. Put the whole code in every page that you want to track. When a visitor visits a page that contains the (whole) code it will execute the whole code and therefore captures visitor's information and saves visitor's information in the database.

As you may well aware, the author of the tutorial above didn't do a good job explaining and didn't even finish the tutorial. It's a complete disaster! I'm not about to finish someone else's tutorial, and, therefore, leaving it to you to judge on your own and maybe finish the job yourself. Good luck!

The next one is much better! Try it!

PHP Program to count Page Views

Build a Visitor Tracking System for your Website with PHP

How To Track Visitor IP, Visited Page, Visiting Time Using PHP

What is the best way to track visitors?

Track visitors PHP Tutorial

If you use the last list code example above from GeekLabel.COM, there is a minor typo in the code and it won't work as intended. So look for a code fragment that says:

else if (!isset($HTTP_USER_AGENT))
   { 
    $HTTP_USER_AGENT = ''; 
   }

Remove the else clause so that it reads:

if (!isset($HTTP_USER_AGENT))
   { 
    $HTTP_USER_AGENT = ''; 
   }

Now the code should work as intended.

The code above uses the old MySQL API that is deprecated and no longer in used. You need to rewrite the connection code in PDO. For a brief tutorial, see my other tutorial called "Introduction to PDO."

Here is a partial code that needs to be rewritten:

// you need to replace the db connection values accordingly

$hostname_visitors = "host";
$database_visitors = "database";
$username_visitors = "username";
$password_visitors = "password";

$visitors = new PDO(mysql:host=$hostname_visitors;dbname=$database_visitors",
                               $username_visitors, $password_visitors);

So look for a code fragment that says:

//write the required data to database
mysql_select_db($database_visitors, $visitors);
$sql = "INSERT INTO visitors_table (visitor_ip, visitor_browser, visitor_hour,
       visitor_minute, visitor_date, visitor_day, visitor_month, visitor_year, 
       visitor_refferer, visitor_page) VALUES ('$visitor_ip', '$visitor_browser', 
       '$visitor_hour', '$visitor_minute', '$visitor_date', '$visitor_day',
       '$visitor_month', 
       '$visitor_year', '$visitor_refferer', '$visitor_page')";
$result = mysql_query($sql) or trigger_error(mysql_error(),E_USER_ERROR);

Modify the code so that it reads:

//write the required data to database
$sql = $visitors->prepare("INSERT INTO visitors_table (visitor_ip, visitor_browser,
       visitor_hour, visitor_minute, visitor_date, visitor_day, visitor_month,
       visitor_year, visitor_refferer, visitor_page)
       VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)";

$result = $sql->execute(array('visitor_ip' => $visitor_ip,
          'visitor_browser' => $visitor_browser, 
          'visitor_hour' => $visitor_hour',  // Typo: remove the ' at the end
          'visitor_minute' => $visitor_minute',  // Typo: remove the ' at the end
          'visitor_date' => $visitor_date', 'visitor_day' => $visitor_day',
          'visitor_month' => $visitor_month',
          'visitor_year' => $visitor_year',
          'visitor_refferer' => $visitor_refferer',
          'visitor_page' => $visited_page')); // Typo: $visited_page and NOT $visitor_page
if (!$result)
   {
    echo 'Cannot insert data into database.';
   }

Look for the next code fragments that say: $additionalQuery = "SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS " and mysql_select_db($database_visitors, $visitors) and remove them both entirely.

Of course, you need to modify the rest of the old MySQL code accordingly, including this fragment: $query_visitors = "(SELECT ".$additionalQuery." * FROM visitors_table WHERE" to SELECT count(*) FROM visitors_table WHERE".

Pay special attention to the function called selfURL() because it returns the page of your website that the visitors visited. You would want to know exactly what page your visitors visited on your website and this function gives you that information. There is a typo that says: 'visitor_page' => $visitor_page' and it should be corrected to 'visitor_page' => $visited_page.

There are also lots of typos that says: 'visitor_page' => $visitor_page' and the oppostrophe at the end should be removed to be 'visitor_page' => $visited_page.

If you want to use the professionally-made tools and here are a few to choose from:

Paid Web Analytics Tools For Tracking Your Visitors

Web Analytics Tools For Tracking Your Visitors

10 Web Analytics Tools For Tracking Your Visitors

My Code to Track Visitors

Here is my "barebone" simple code to track your visitors visiting on the index.php front page of your website. Any time a visitor visits your website, which is primarily being visited on the index.php front page, it tracks that person as one visit. If that person returns to visit your website again on another occassion on another session, it accounts for that visit as another one visit as well.

In other words, it logs each visit by a person as one visit no matter how many pages or area a visitor is visiting because this "barebone" simple code is designed to track only one page, which is the index.php front page. When a person continues to visit other pages on your website it does not account for those visits.

When a person leaves the website entirely and comes back to visit the website again, it again will log that person as one unique visit without differentiating the visit as a return visit. It keeps doing this for all other visitors as well.

It tallies all of the visits from all visitors [new or old visitors] that enter the website on every session to account for the website traffic. The total count of the page hits does not account for the return visits by the same person.

You can make improvement to this code as well or use it "AS IS" without any modification.

First of all, you will need to create a MySQL database to store all of your page hits.

To track your website traffic, just put all of the below code in a PHP file (perhaps, name it as pagehit.php) and then include this file name (pagehit.php) at the top of your index.php front page. See an example index.php front page later.

Remember that the following code is written to log only one page, which is assumed to be an index.php front page. So put the whole code below at the top of your index.php front page.

However, you can track page hits on every page of your website as well -- not just the index.php front page.

To count page hits on all of your website pages, just include this file name (pagehit.php) in every one of your pages. It will log different querystrings for different pages.

So the key thing to come away with this code (below) is that you can place the below code at the top of every page of your website if you want to track each page. However, it will distort your total page hits because a visitor may visits all of your pages and since each of your page contains a code to capture the page hit, the total page hit will be larger than it should be.

Let's put it this way: You want to track your website's unique traffic but if a visitor visits all of your pages or just some of your pages, the page hits will not reflect the true website's unique traffic. That's why this code below was designed to track only the index.php front page so that it accurately tracks the website's unique traffic.

So if you put the below code at the top of every page on your website it will just add all of the page hits together from all of your pages, including the index.php front page. In other words, it combines all of the page hits from all of your pages as one total and this total does not reflect the true unique traffic of the site.

So if you want to know which page got how many hits, you'll have to modify the code slightly because the code below just lump all of the various page hits together as one total, and this total includes the hits on the index.php front page, too.

Notice that you can either put the following code in a PHP file (pagehit.php) and include it like [include("pagehit.php")] in every page of your website OR just copy and paste the entire code and put it at the top of every page of your website and it will work just fine.

<?php
/**
 * a function to count how many times visitors visit a particular page
 *
 * you can call this function by passing a page file to it
 *
 * see at the bottom of this function to see how it is being called
 *
 * notice that argument $page can be any page on your website, but
 * the database code just add all of the page hits together regardless
 * of what page or pages you pass to it!
 *
 * this is where you can modify the database code slightly to store
 * the different page hits individually! it's up to you to modify it!
 *
 * if you don't really care which page gets the most hit and only
 * care about the whole website's total hit, then there is no need to
 * modify this code! just use it "AS IS" and include the file
 * pagehit.php at the top of the index.php front page and don't
 * include this file in any of your pages because the index.php file
 * is the only file we're tracking! nothing else!
 */

public function pageCounter($page, $referer)
     {
      // you might want to pass these connection parameters
      // from external source instead of embedding them like here!

      $hostingserver = 'root';
      $databaseName = 'your_database_name';
      $username = ''; // your database username
      $password = ''; // your database password

      // try to create a PDO connection instance
      try
          {
           $conn = new PDO("mysql:host=$hostingserver;dbname=$databaseName",
                                             $username, $password);
           $conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
          }
      catch (PDOException $e)
          {
           echo 'Cannot connect to the PDO database. ' . $e->getMessage();
          }

      // now try to create a table named pagecounter if it
      // doesn't already exist in the database

      // if it already exists in the database, it will skip this try/catch blocks!

      // in other words, it won't create a table named `pagecounter` because
      // it already exists in the database!

      // however, it will continue executing all codes following the try/catch
      // blocks!

      // FYI:

      // I've found that for some shared hosting's PDO engine doesn't
      // recorgnize this statement:

      // 'CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS'

      // to solve that problem, remove the below statement and create the table
      // manually using PHPmyAdmin or some other means!

      // so you don't actually need to test this condition (below) every time a
      // page is hit! in other words, you don't need to check if the table
      // exists or not, because you already know that a table already have been
      // created, and, therefore, there is no need to use the condition
      // code below!

      // just remove the create table condition below and make sure your table
      // have been created already and it will work just fine!

      try
          {
           $sql = $conn->prepare("CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `pagecounter`
                                    (
                                     `id` int(25) NOT NULL auto_increment,
                                     `page_name` varchar(255) NOT NULL default '',
                                     `referer` varchar(255) NULL default '',
                                     `page_hit` int(25) NOT NULL default '0',
                                     `date_time` datetime NOT NULL default
                                     CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
                                     PRIMARY KEY  (`id`)
                                    ) TYPE=MyISAM"
                                );

           // execute the query to create the table
           $sql->execute();
          }
      catch (PDOException $e)
          {
           echo 'Cannot create table pagecounter. ' . $e->getMessage();
          }

      // after creating the table, it's time to insert new page hits

      // but first, check to see if there are any page hits already stored
      // in the database

      $query  = $conn->prepare("SELECT * FROM pagecounter
                                         WHERE page_name = :page");

      $result = $query->execute(['page' => $page]);

      // check to see if there are any page hits already stored
      // in the database

      if ($result)
         {
          // yes, there are page hits already stored in the
          // database!

          $result->setFetchMode(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);

          while ($row = $result->fetch())
              {
               // so just add the new page hit to the total

               $counter = $row['page_hit'] + 1;
              }

          // after adding a new page hit to the total,
          // we need to update the total page hits and as well as
          // updating the rest of the record, too!

          $update  = $conn->prepare("UPDATE pagecounter
                                        SET page_name = :page,
                                            referer = :referer,
                                            page_hit = :counter");

          $update->execute([':page' => $page,
                            ':referer' => $referer,
                            ':counter' => $counter
                           ]
                          );
         }
      else
         {
          // this must be for the first page hit!

          // there are no page hit stored in the database,
          // so we need to store the first page hit in the database

          $stmt = $conn->prepare("INSERT INTO pagecounter
                                  VALUES (?, ?, ?)"
                                );

          $stmt->execute([
                           'page_name' => $page,
                           'referer' => $referer,

                           // since there are no page hits stored in the
                           // database, so it must be the first time,
                           // and therefore, 'page_hit' is set to 1

                           'page_hit' => '1'
                          ]
                         );

          // if you observe the create table code definition
          // and the insert table code above, you'll notice that
          // there are 5 table fields in the create table code
          // while only 3 fields (page_name, referer, and page_hit) are
          // performed in the insert/update table code above.

          // if you look closely in the create table definition
          // you'll notice that the 'id' field contains the
          // "auto_increment" clause that MySQL uses to increment
          // this 'id' automatically starting with number 1 and
          // increments it by 1 each time you insert a row of record.

          // therefore, the 'id' field is not directly handled by
          // programmers -- it is handled by MySQL automatically.

          // likewise, the `date_time` field is not directly handled by
          // programmers, either -- it is handled by MySQL automatically,
          // because it was declared in the definition to use a
          // 'default' date time value, generating a date and time
          // automatically every time an insert or an update operation
          // is taking place.

          // the function CURRENT_TIMESTAMP generates the date and time
          // automatically!

          // so it looks like this:

          // `date_time` datetime NOT NULL default CURRENT_TIMESTAMP


          // self-explanatory!


          // now on to the code flow:

          // since this is the first time a visitor saw this
          // page, we initialize the page to one hit!

          // the next time any visitor visits this page it
          // will not come here in the "else" condition because
          // $result contains some value(s) for the tracking page!

          $counter = 1;
         }

      // return the result of the query back to the caller!
      // this is the number of times the page has been hit by visitors!

      return $counter;
     } // end function pageCounter($page, $referer)

/**
 * now that the function has been written, we can call that function
 * from anywhere!
 *
 * to call that function, you have to include the following snippet
 * of code!
 *
 * put the following code at the top of every page you want to track!
 */

// HTTP headers

// every time the Web runs it fires off the HTTP protocol and PHP has a
// a built-in variable called $_SERVER to grab all of the HTTP headers.

// The superglobal array variable $_SERVER has 32 values, i.e.,

// $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'], $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'], $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'],
// $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'], $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME'], $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'],
// $_SERVER['IP_ADDRESS'], $_SERVER['DNT'], etc.

// and you can view these values by running in your view (index.php)
// page or in any page output code like this:

// print_r($_SERVER);

// here, we grab the page's url using the HTTP protocol,
// particularly the built-in (superglobal) array variable $_SERVER.

// in here, we're just grabbing those HTTP headers, such as the URI or URL,
// including the querystrings. that's what the following code is doing!

// the $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] code is to refer to the current file itself!
// so if you put $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] inside a file called index.php, it
// will run that file!

// as for $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'] is to grab the server name, i.e.,
// example.com.

// as for $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] is to grab the url that the visitor
// just came from!

// for example, if a visitor came to your website from another website
// called http://www.example.com, $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'] returns
// http://www.example.com

// as for $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'] is to grab the url's querystring, the
// string after the '?', i.e.,
// www.example.com/?arg1=value1&arg2=value2&arg3=value3

// so this will look something like these:

// www.example.com/index.php?arg1=value1&arg2=value2&arg3=value3
// www.example.com/catalog.php?arg1=value1&arg2=value2&arg3=value3
// www.example.com/affiliate.php?arg1=value1&arg2=value2&arg3=value3
// www.example.com/mypage.php?arg1=value1&arg2=value2&arg3=value3

/**
 * here are some useful items you might find useful:
 *
 * $visitor_hour = date("h");
 * $visitor_minute = date("i");
 * $visitor_day = date("d");
 * $visitor_month = date("m");
 * $visitor_year = date("y");
 */

$self_url = $_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'] . $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] . '?' .
            $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'];

// grab the url of the visitor's last link!

$referer = $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER'];

// we call pageCounter() and getting a page hit instantly
$page_hit = pageCounter($self_url, $referer);

/**
 * now that we have a page hit we can do whatever we want, such as
 * display it somewhere on the same page. how you use this page hit
 * is up to you, but here we just echoing out to the browser to
 * display the page hit on the same page!
 */

echo $page_hit;

/**
 * what if you want to put the display of the page hit somewhere
 * on your website beside the default front index.php page?
 *
 * in other words, you want to put a hit counter in a different page
 * other than the front index.php.
 *
 * in that case, you have to query the database using the code
 * similar to the following. see a seperate index.php example below.
 *
 * you need to put this code at the very top of your xxx.php page!
 *
 * // try to create a PDO connection instance
 * try
 *     {
 *      $conn = new PDO("mysql:host=$hostingserver;dbname=$databaseName",
 *                                            $username, $password);
 *      $conn->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
 *     }
 * catch (PDOException $e)
 *     {
 *      echo 'Cannot connect to the PDO database. ' . $e->getMessage();
 *     }
 *
 * $query  = $conn->prepare("SELECT * FROM pagecounter
 *                                    WHERE page_name = :page");
 *
 * $result = $query->execute('page' => $page);
 *
 * if ($result)
 *    {
 *     $result->setFetchMode(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
 *     while ($row = $result->fetch())
 *         {
 *          $counter = $row['page_hit'] + 1;
 *         }
 *    }
 *
 * and then you can basically display the hit page anywhere on
 * your xxx.php. for example:
 *
 * <p>Total visits: <?=$counter?>
 *
 * see the "barebone" index.php page below as an example!
 */
?>

The example above can be used to display in the "barebone" index.php front page as well.

Here is a "barebone" index.php front page example to show how to include the pagehit.php file at the top of your index.php front page.

?<php
// here, assuming you name the whole code above as pagehit.php

// this is it! just one line!

// very simple to include a tracking script on
// your index.php front page!

// don't forget to put the file pagehit.php at the same level
// in directory as your index.php

include(pagehit.php);
?>

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en-US">
<head>
<title>My Home Page</title>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<meta name="language" content="en" >
<link href="./asset/44ab1983/css/style.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="./asset/16eb9947/jquery.js"></script>
<style>
html,
body
    {
     width: 100%;
     height: 100%;
     background-color: #e6e6ff;
    }

#product-item
    {
     background-color: white;
     padding-left: 10px;
     padding-right: 10px;
    }
</style>

<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function()
    {
     public function example(arg)
          {
           // function code
          }
    });
</script>

</head>

<body>
     <div>
         content of the div
     </div>

     <div>
       <table>
         <tr>
           <td>
             td content
           </td>
         </tr>
       </table>
     </div>

     <div>
       content of the div
       <a href="#">link</a>
     </div>
</body>
</html>

There you have it! An easy way to track your website's visitors!!!

Migrating Your Website to a Real "Live" Server

Now that you've got your website with all the bells and whistles, you can migrate it to your live server to make your website live online for your visitors all over the world to see.

There are plenty of web hosting providers out there: both for paid hosting and for free hosting. Just Google the term "free web hosting" and it will give you a lot of results to choose from.

Here is one that I found on the Internet, the one that I use on one of my websites: https://webfreehosting.net/

As with all free web hostings, there are certain things you can and can't do, such as you can't incorporating your payment application to do ecommerce transactions. To be able to do ecommerce transactions, you'll have to subscribe to their paid hosting service that normally costs about $2.99 per month.

For the free web hosting plan, you are limited to certain bandwidth as well. Not only that, even if you have a paid hosting plan with them and if your website receives a lot of traffic, this hosting provider throttles your bandwidth to slow down your visitors visiting your website, making your website to load very slowly.

An example of that is my website ZeroNilZilch.COM, which receives very heavy traffic, and as a result, this hosting provider throttles my bandwidth, making it very slow to load.

You may have already noticed that the website is very slow to load. This is because my website receives very very heavy traffic and this hosting provider throttles my bandwidth traffic.

So please be patience with my website when surfing my website and please keep visiting my website regularly when you need to. I would love to have you all continue making use of the resources in my website on a regular basis.

Thanks!!!

If you compare ZeroNilZilch.COM with the rest of my websites, say, Noon2Noon.COM, or Rainbow180.COM, or PostalJobHotline.COM, ZeroNilZilch.COM takes a long time to load while the others are very fast to load. This is due to this hosting provider throttles my loading speed because of ZeroNilZilch.COM generating very very heavy traffic.

As you can see, even when I follow their policy very religiously and not even anywhere close to breaking their policy, they still impose limits on my website, something that I'm not very happy about. So this is the only one factor that I'm not happy about this hosting provider.

So please read their policy. Also, you need to abide by their policy on all other aspects of the "free plan" to avoid being shut down. So make sure you read their policy on what you can do and on what you "CAN'T" do.

I hope you take this warning seriously because once you're shut down, you can't get another account with the same host provider. You'll have to find another hosting provider.

All hosting providers have policy that they enforce very strictly. So don't loose your hosting account with this hosting that I mentioned above, because it is one of the best hosting providers out there, albeit, they impose bandwidth limits when your website receives very heavy traffic.

I don't know if other shared hostings do this or not. Anyhow, please be mindful of this scenario.

So good luck and have fun with your website, albeit be mindful of the policies placed on your hosting plan.

A Secret

Here is a secret that no one will tell you about this hosting provider mentioned above, but I will: You can actually signup for many hosting accounts with this hosting provider so that you can host as many (of your) websites as you want.

Yes, that is right; you can have your websites hosted by this hosting provider and it is perfectly legal and they won't ban you for hosting multiple websites on their platform. Yes, that is correct! You can host multiple websites on their platform! I repeat: You can host as many websites as you want on their plaform.

All you have to do is signup each account for each of your websites using a unique email address and it will let you signup for multiple accounts to host multiple websites.

My suggestion for you is to create multiple email accounts, say, with Gmail.COM or with any other email services and using those email addresses to signup hosting accounts with this hosting provider to host all of your websites.

Yahoo Mail is also one of the best emai service providers out there and it on par with Gmail service. I, myself, use both Gmail and Yahoo Mail for my emails needs. I singed up multiple email accounts with both and the best part is that you can signup for an ulimited email accounts.

Remember that one email address is only good for one hosting account to host one website. So if you have multiple websites (as I do), you need to have multiple email addresses so that you can use those email addresses to signup hosting accounts with this hosting provider.

One email address is only good for one website.

You can use (your) same name and same address and the same other information as well.

You don't have to use different name and different other information.

Email address is only one that needs to be unique for each account.

One Last Warning:

Please DO NOT abuse your free hosting priviledges. In other words, please read their 'Users Policies' carefully and obey their rules and guidelines.

Just because it is free and you can signup for multiple accounts, it doesn't mean that you can do anything you feel like doing.

So enjoy your multiple hosting accounts for your multiple websites, but be mindful of their rules and guidelines and DO NOT abuse your priviledges.

There you have it!

A secret that no one will tell you about it!!!

But I am telling you that!!!

So good luck and have fun with your websites, albeit be mindful of the policies placed on your hosting plans.

Navigating Through Your Account Dashboard/Webspace

Once you'd signup an account with the above mentioned webhosting service provider, you can login to your account and the dashboard/webspace looks like the following:

On the left side is where it lists your account detail that looks like the following:

As you can see in the dashboard area or webspace area, you have several options to choose to go into more specific tasks. It shows all kinds of options for you to choose.

For example, when you click on an FTP Manager, it takes you to an FTP manager area where you can setup/create FTP accounts.

From there, you can fill out and supplying the various required FTP account information.

After creating an FTP account, now you're ready to upload your website files to your FTP account.

You will need these FTP account information to be used with your FileZilla application to transfer your files to and from your local computer to your FTP account.

See my other tutorial called Introduction to FileZilla.

Next, you need to create database(s) by clicking on the Database Manager and fill out the appropriate information. You will need these information to use with your database "PDO" connection.

See my other tutorial called Introduction to PDO.

At this point, you're done with creating FTP and Database accounts and presumably all your website files have been uploaded to your FTP account and your database tables and content have been created and setup and ready to go.

Next, you need to setup your domain. Somewhere in your dashboard area, there is a topic called Domain Manager. Click on that topic to go to setup your domain and it opens up a domain creation view that looks like the following:

In the above area where you can setup/create your domain accounts by supplying the necessary information.

There are several options to choose from depending on your actual situation. You can actually buy your own domain from this hosting provider on the spot by clicking on 'register a domain. You can also transfer your domain to this hosting provider if you had registered it with some other domain registrars.

Either way, you're good to go with this hosting provider.

Personally, I recommend you to register your domain with other hosting/domain service providers that can offer you cheap domains. There are plenty of cheap domain service providers out there and one that I use personally is called https://www.namesilo.com/

If you're using domain from other domain service providers, just type the name of your domain in the box under: 'Host an existing Domain', for example: myfirstsite.com. And click on "Host Domain" button. Don't forget to put the "DOT" suffix name after your domain as shown in the example. This can be .com, .net. .org, etc.

If you're using a domain from other domain service providers, make sure that the domain is fully active, otherwise, this hosting is not able to detect your domain from the central server of the World Wide Web consortium who actually is maintaining the domains as a central location.

The domain service providers are just third parties sellers selling domains from the main body organization called the World Wide Web consortium.

After that, it should give you some sort of result at the bottom of your domain space if it is hosted successfully with this hosting provider.

In the result that you just created and hosted successfully, look at the heading at the far right side that says "Settings" and click on that topic. It should slides down to reveal more content. Now click on the topic: "DSN" (stands for 'Domain Name Server') and it should slides down further to reveal more content on that topic.

There are lots of options for you to choose, but for beginners, you only need to be concern with the topic called "NS".

Next, look under the heading called "Type" on the left side and scan down to find "NS" which stands for 'Name Server', or short for 'Domain Name Server'.

You need to copy this domain name server (address) so that you can use it to link your domain that you had registered with other domain service provider to your hosting account with this hosting service provider.

In a simplier way of saying is that, this domain name address is used to link your domain name that is residing in your third party domain registrar to this web hosting provider. Your third party domain registrar needs this information to link the two servers together.

Once you have the domain name server address, you need to go back to your domain service provider that you had registered and had an account with and login to that account so that you can supply this "NS" information to that domain provider.

In your (third party) domain service provider dashboard space, there should be an option that says "Domain Manager" and you need to navigate to that domain manager space and look for some sort of topic called "domain service name entry" or similar to that nature and then supply the "NS" information to it accordingly.

Hint: In your third party domain service registrar, look in the "Domain Manager" and click on one of the options listed on your particular domain. Maybe try clicking on the name of your domain and see what options it reveals.

Different domain service providers have slightly different look and feel, but all of them should have something in common, and that is, a box for you to enter the "NS".

Here is an example of domain entries:

Name Server 1: ns1.example.com

Name Server 2: ns2.example.com

Name Server 3: ns3.example.com

Name Server 4: ns4.example.com

Name Server 5: ns5.example.com

As you can see above, there are several domain name servers that you need to enter, but for most hosting providers like the free web hosting service provider that I mentioned above, you only need to supply only two "NS" entries are enough.

Once you've entered the "NS" information and submitted, it will take about 12 hours to take effect, although some domain providers take longer or shorter.

Meanwhile, after about an hour or so after you've submitted your "NS" information, you can try to load your website to see if it's effective or not. I've found that with most domain service providers, it only takes about one hour to take effect and not more. Try it after an hour of the entry and see if it is effective.

At this point, everything has been covered to enable you beginning website developers to able to create websites and host them in a live server. You can keep making improvements to your websites as they get more sophisticated.

There you have it! Have fun with your websites!

My Coding Convention

<?php
class Foo{
  public test($x) {
    if ($x == 1){
    // do something with $x
    }elseif ($x == 2){
    // do something with $x again
    }elseif ($x == 3){
    // do something with $x again
    }else{
    // do nothing with $x
    }
  }

  private getFoo(){
    for ($i = 1; $i < 10; ++i){
      // do something with $i
    }
  }
}
?>
   

<?php
class Foo
    {
     private $arr;

     public function config()
          {
           return [
                   'id' => 'app',
                   'basePath' => dirname(__DIR__),

                   'component' => [
                                   'request' => [
                                                 'csrf' => 'csrf-app',
                                                ],
                                   'user' => [
                                              'identity' => 'app\model\User',
                                              'autoLogin' => true,
                                              'cookie' => [
                                                           'name' => 'id-app',
                                                           'httpOnly' => true
                                                          ],
                                              'error' => [
                                                          'action' => 'site/error',
                                                         ],
                                             ],
                                  ],
                  ];
          } // end config()

     public function example($arg1 = null, $arg2 = null)
          {
           if (!empty($arg1))
              {
               // do something with $arg1
               foreach ($arg1 as $item)
                     {
                      // do something with $item
                      try
                          {
                           switch ($item)
                                {
                                 case 1:
                                       // do something
                                       if ($something)
                                          {
                                           for ($i = 0; $i < $something; $i++)
                                               {
                                                $dosomething[$i] = getSomething();
                                               }
                                          }
                                       elseif ($otherThing)
                                          {
                                           foreach ($otherThing)
                                                 {
                                                  try
                                                      {
                                                       $doOtherThing = getOtherthing();
                                                      }
                                                  catch (Exception $e)
                                                      {
                                                       // doOtherThing with $e;
                                                      }
                                                  catch (OtherException $o)
                                                      {
                                                       // doOtherThing with $o
                                                      }
                                                 } // end foreach
                                          } // end elseif ($something)
                                 break;
                                 case 2:
                                      // do something
                                 break;
                                 case 3:
                                      // do something
                                 break;
                                 default:
                                      // do something
                                 break;
                                } // end switch
                          } // end try
                      catch (Exception $e)
                          {
                           // Error! Do something with the error $e
                          }
                     } // end foreach
              } // end if $arg1 is not empty
           elseif ($arg2 != null)
              {
               // do ... while and for() loops
               $test = false;
               do
                   {
                    for ($i = 0; $i < count($arg2); ++$i)
                        {
                         if ($arg2[$i] == 1)
                            {
                             $test = true;
                             break;
                            }
                        } // end for()
                   } // end do
               while ($test == false);
              } // end elseif
           else
              {
               // do nothing
               return '';
              }

           $connect = '';
           $attempt = 3;
           while (!$connect AND $attempt > 0)
               {
                $authConn->connect();
                $connect = $authConn->isConnect();
                $attempt = $attempt - 1;
               }
          } // end example()
    } // end class Foo
?>
   

1. Robustness. Robustness should maintain readability, flexibility, consistency, and extensibility that can easily be extensible seamlessly and be well-understood by different groups of developers.


2. Bug-free. Use sound coding practices to achieve bug-free.


3. Productivity. Productivity translates more money.

1. Naming convention.
   
   
   • Use camelCase, not_under_scores_, for class names and function/method names. For example: siteController -- as appose to site_controller; arrayAccessTrait -- as appose to Array_Access_Trait. Avoid using _under_scores_ for single word names as well, for example, using get() as appose to _get(), set() as appose to _set(), unset() as appose to _unset(), etc.
   
   
   • Use lower case for file names, even if the name contains multiple words, e.g., myindexfile, privateimagefile. DO NOT use _under_scores_ in file names. This is illegal: my_index_file.php.
   
   
   • Use _under_scores_ for variable names, and arguments names. Example: item_1, num_1. Add($annual_salary, $current_bonus).
     See exception below.
   
   
   • Always use singular, not plural, for all naming convention. This includes all class, method/function, variable names and directory names.
     
     For example, addValue() instead of addValues(); getTwoRow() instead of getTwoRows(); getView() instead of getViews(); Theme instead of Themes; ad instead of ads; lib instead of libs; site instead of sites; user instead of users; arg instead of args; item instead of items; and so forth.
     
     The most popular variables that most programmers use are: views, models, controllers, params, users, items, libs, utils, pages, files, args, lines, rows, images, assets, etc. While it may seems very logical to use plural to name class, method, and variable names to reflect the true description of the variables, it is a very bad idea and it will cause confusions and problems later on.
     
     Let's face it, we all use proper grammar in our everyday language and it becomes a natural thing to do as well when it comes to programming when naming class, method, and variable names convention. We have a tendency to use proper grammar in our programming work. It's also a habit that is hard to break.
     
     But it's a habit that we should try to break away from and not following it in programming. So proper grammar is not the best way to program. So please avoid using pluralities. It creates confusions and bugs later on. ALWAYS USE SINGULAR! PERIOD!
   
   
   • Use a clear distinct naming convention for all class, method, argument, and variable names. Avoid using the same word as verb/noun to declare two distinct variables, for examples: rate (verb) and rater (noun), use (verb) and user (noun), code (verb) and coder (noun), serve (verb) and server (noun), or even page (noun) and pager (noun), etc. Furthermore, avoid using past tense as well. For example, use connect instead of connected, etc.
     
     Do not use something like these either: usr and user for two distinct variables; or user/users for two distinct variables (no plural is allowed--only singular); or use/usr/users for three distinct variables; or route/routes/router/routers for four distinct variables (again no plural is allowed--only singular); or use/used/user/users for four distinct variables (again no past tense and plural are allowed).
     
     If you insist on having the same lexicon in your variables, just add _under_scores and additional variables and some suffix identification to your lexicon word. For examples, user_new_1, user_old_2, user_var_1, route_1, route_2, etc. Just keep in mind that a good naming convention gives less problems later on. A good rule of thumb is, make it very distinct from one another.
   
   
   • Exception: Enumerate the naming convention is ok (like: $num1, $num2, $num3, $arr1, $arr2, $arr3, $arg1, $arg2, $arg3, $param1, $param2, $param3, etc.); however, please try to limit its use to an absolute minimum.
   
   
   • Class Constants: Class constants must be all upper case letters (e.g., DEMO, PROFILE, DASHBOARD) and if multiple words are used (e.g., DEV_DEBUG, EVENT_BEFORE_ACTION, CORE_ROOT_DIR) _under_scores_ must be used to seperate the multiple words. Notice that the word dashboard is considered as a single word.
   
   
   • camelCase: A camelCase is when you have multiple words as one word and that word begins with a lower case letter for the first sub-word and the rest of the sub-words' initial letter are upper case letters. For examples, the word 'camel case' becomes camelCase; the word 'error exception trait' becomes errorExceptionTrait; the word 'my product category list' becomes myProductCategoryList.
   
   
   • Use lower case for the most part except when camelCase is warranted. And for single-word method/function, class names can be an upper case letter for the beginning letter and the rest are lower case letters. Or it can be all lower case letter but cannot be all upper case letters. For example, these are ok: Add(), add(), but these are not allowed: ADD(), $ITEM, $PARAM, $LIB, etc.
     
     If you use an upper case letter for the initial letter of the single-word names, make sure to stick to that convention and if you use lower case for the initial letter of the single-word names, also be consistent and stick to that convention as well. Be consistent!
   
   
   • Important: Failure to adhere to these naming convention and other guidelines outlined in here can cause your code to contain bugs later on.
   
   
   • Naming a file name the same as its class name. For example, class errorExceptionTrait has its file being named as errorexceptiontrait.php. For any other files, they don't have to have the same name.
   
   
   • Naming all folder names without using _under_scores_ even if there are multiple words. For example, naming your folders as AdminController as appose to Admin_Controller, VendorComponent as appose to Vendor_Component, LibUtil as appose to Lib_Util, etc. No plural is allowed as well. So name your folders as image as appose to images. Yes, it seems like overwhelming majority of programmers like to name their folders as 'images' as appose to 'image' because it makes a logical sense to name their folders using plural to hold images. Always use singular. Period! No 'and', 'if', or 'but'.
   
   
   • Summary: So the key point to remember is that ONLY variables can contain _under_scores_. Anything else cannot contain _under_scores_.
   
   
   • Always comment your class, method, and function ending demarcations if your code is lengthy. For shorter code, you can go without the comment. This helps you and others follow the logic of your code. For example, assuming you have a lengthy code:
     
     

     <?php
     class Foo
         {
          public addValue($x, $y)
               {
                // method body
               } // end addValue()
     
          private getFoo()
                {
                 // method body
                } // end getFoo()
         } // end class Foo
     
     ?>
     Notice the comments: // end addValue(), // end getFoo(), // end class Foo
        

     
     
   • Always comment your condition blocks ending demarcations if your code is lengthy. This includes: if/else/else if/ and other condition blocks such as while, do ... while, and for loop blocks such as for() and foreach(), and for try ... catch() blocks as well. For shorter code, you can go without the comment. This helps you and others follow the logic of your code. For example, assuming you have a lengthy code:
     
     

     <?php
     class Foo
         {
          if ($expr1)
             {
              // lengthy multiple statements code block
              // lengthy multiple statements code block
              // lengthy multiple statements code block
             } // end if ($expr1)
          elseif ($expr2)
             {
              // lengthy multiple statements code block
              // lengthy multiple statements code block
              // lengthy multiple statements code block
             } // end elseif ($expr2)
          else
             {
              // lengthy multiple statements code block
              // lengthy multiple statements code block
              // lengthy multiple statements code block
             } // end else if ($expr2)
     
          try
              {
               // lengthy multiple statements code block
               // lengthy multiple statements code block
               // lengthy multiple statements code block
               // lengthy multiple statements code block
              } // end try block
          catch (Exception $e)
              {
               // lengthy multiple statements code block
              } // end Exception $e
          catch (OtherException $o)
              {
               // lengthy multiple statements code block
              } // end OtherException $o
         } // end class Foo
     ?>
     Notice the comments:
          // end if ($expr1), // end elseif ($expr2), // end else if ($expr2)
          // end try block,   // end Exception $e,    // end OtherException $o
          // end class Foo
        

     
     
   
   
   
2. Killing Tabs. When you indent your code (or line statements) make sure to kill all tabs; because if you don't, the indentation that contains tabs will not aligned properly from one editor to the next if you use multiple editors. Yes, all of us use different editor all the time. Furthermore, even the same editor that you use regularly will behave differently if you upgrade its version from one version to the next. So make sure to kill all tabs. Period!
   
   Tabs are text editor's special feature that enable you to speed up the moving of spaces by skipping the individual space when you press the "tab" button or the "advance forward" horizontall bar or the "return" key (or bar).
   
   In other words, when you press the "return" key the editor will jump pass the beginning of the line to the level that the immediate previous line starts, so that the beginning line of your code align with the beginning line of the previous line. All editors have this feature to save time of moving the beginning of your line to align it with the beginning of the previous line.
   
   Contrary to popular opinions, this so called "speed up" feature of the editors is actually slowing down the over all productivity of your finished (programming) products.
   
   How so? For one, if you're familiar with the Python programming language, you know that tabs can and do alter the meaning of the code you are writing; second, some Javascript interpreters see tabs as foreign objects and behave un-expectedly. There are other bad behaviors that tabs can cause your programing code to slow down your productivity and I don't want to list them here and only want to hi-light a few to let you know that tabs in programming generally is bad.
   
   So you don't want this default feature of the editor to mess your indentation by not killing them. So always kill all tabs.


3. Shorthand Arrays. Shorthand array syntax [...elements...] is used instead of the regular long form array(...elements...). And (shorthand) arrays used in the configurations can optionally contain a comma (",") as well at the end of the array element list. As examples, the below configurations contain a comma following the last array element [particularly 'charset => utf8' for shorthand array] even though there isn't another array element following it.

   As a matter of fact, both regular arrays and shorthand arrays can contain a comma (",") at the end of the array element list. This is legal (for both) and you can choose to put it there or take it out and it is perfectly fine. It's not a requirement to have a comma at the end of the last array element. So it's up to your personal preference.

   However, this coding standard strongly recommends putting a comma after all array elements because it avoids bugs. The reason that it is legal to have a comma after the last array element is to speed up coding process and avoid bugs. So it is strongly suggested that you put a comma after the last array element to avoid bugs.

   Here is a snippet of code using the regular array:

   $requirement = array(
                        array(
                              'name' => 'PHP Some Extension',
                              'mandatory' => true,
                              'condition' => extension_loaded('some_extension'),
                              'by' => 'Some application feature',
   
                              // notice the comma after this last array element!
                              'memo' => 'PHP extension "some_extension" required',
                             ),    // <== notice the comma! this is perfectly legal!
                       );
   

   
   

   In the following, a configuration is used to create and initialize a database connection. Notice the comma following the array element 'charset => utf8' even though there isn't another array element following it:

   $config = [
              'class' => 'core\db\Connection',
              'dsn' => 'mysql:host=127.0.0.1;dbname=demo',
              'username' => 'root',
              'password' => '',
              'charset' => 'utf8',  // <== notice the the comma! it's perfectly legal!
             ];
   $db = core::createObject($config);
   

   
   

   If you look at the example preview earlier [in the function config()], you'll see shorthand arrays are being used and all last elements of the arrays have a comma after each of the last element of the arrays. So it is definitely recommended that shorthand arrays and a comma on the last element of the array are being used -- on your own programming chores -- because it is much cleaner and easier to visualize, and most importantly, it speeds up your application development by eliminating bugs and unnecessary syntax corrections.




4. Readability. There must be a space between variables and arithmetic signs/operations, comment demarcation, comparison/assignment operations. For examples:
   
   

      $a = $b + $c; // add b to c
      Do not do this: $a=$b+$c; //add b to c
   
      if ($b == $c)
      Do not do this: if($b==$c)
   
      Do not do this: for($i=0;$i<10;$i++)
      Do this instead: for ($i = 0; $i < 10; $i++)
      



5. Class and function hierarchical structures and indentations
   
   Most modern coding conventions indent only four spaces for all code hierarchical structures, and because keywords have different lengths, it causes the hierarchical levels of indentation to look weird and not very clean. For example, to indent four spaces for the class, it looks like this:
   
   

   class Example
       {
       }
   

   That looks very good, but on longer reserved/keywords like public, private, protected, static, etc., it looks awful. For examples:
   
   

   public class Example
       {
       }
   
   private class Example
       {
       }
   
   protected class Example
       {
       }
   
   static class Example
       {
       }
   
   Or for conditional structures:
   
   if (condition)
       {
       }
   else
       {
       }
   elseif
       {
       }
   
   foreach
       {
       }

   As you can see, indenting four spaces for all code structures, [although very uniformed], is a bad idea, and it looks weird visually and logically. That's why I chose to indent the code according to the length of the reserved keyword.
   
   For a better view of the examples of hierarchical structures and indentations that make use of the reserved keywords, see the preview example earlier or the following examples.
   
   The guidelines for class and function structures and indentations follow what I call a common sense rule, and that is, the placement of parentheses, spaces, indentations, and braces are placed based on the position of the clause either at the end of the keyword or one space after the keyword in the case for short keywords.
   
   For long keywords like abstract, private, protected, etc. (public is o.k.), you can indent just five positions to align with 'public' and it's fine. Although indent the full keyword is o.k., too. See examples for a better visualization.
   
   DO NOT place the opening parenthesis on the same line as the class, method definition, and do not place the closing parenthesis on the same line as the last statement. The opening and closing parentheses should be aligned vertically and indented the exact amount of spaces. The following is the default, old fashion style of coding. It's past its legacy. So don't do this:
   
   

   class Example {
        private $myVar;
   
        public myMethod($x) {
         // ... code
         return $x; }
   
        // ... more class code here!
   }
   

   Nowaday, the trend is leaving the legacy style behind and more and more programmers are adopting new modern style of coding and my coding convention is a byproduct of the new trend. So do these instead:
   
   

   <?php
   class Foo
       {
        /**
         * class body declaration.
         * notice the four spaces indentation of the class' opening "{" and
         * the five spaces indentation of the method declaration: public.
         * notice also that the opening/closing parentheses are aligned vertically at the
         * same level, and all respective code body are inside the parentheses.
         * it looks very clean and easy to follow the logic of the code flow.
         */
        public $arr = array();
        private $dbConnection;
   
        public addValue($x, $y)
             {
              // method body
              // notice that the indentation and placement of the opening "{" and
              // closing "}" directly leveled with the last letter of its keyword.
             }
   
        private getFoo()
              {
               // method body
               // notice that the indentation and placement of the opening "{" and
               // closing "}" directly leveled with the last letter of its keyword.
              }
   
        protected getBar()
                {
                 // method body
                 // notice that the indentation and placement of the opening "{" and
                 // closing "}" directly leveled with the last letter of its keyword.
                }
   
        // this is ok, too, and is preferred, indent five spaces to align with
        // 'public' which is the most commonly use visibility clause
        protected setFoo($x)
             {
              // method body
             }
   
        public addFoo()
             {
              // method body
             }
   
        // this is ok
        abstract protected function zeroBar();
               {
                // method body
               }
   
        // this is ok, too, indent five spaces to align with 'public' which is
        // the most commonly use visibility clause
        abstract arrayHelper()
             {
              // code body here for this abstract method
             }
   
        public static function bar()
             {
              // method body
             }
   
        // this is ok, too
        private static function bar()
              {
               // method body
              }
   
        // this is ok, too, indent five spaces
        private static function bar()
             {
              // method body
             }
   
        final public static function bar()
            {
             // method body
            }
   
        // same as above
        final private static function bar()
            {
             // method body
            }
   
        static function bar()
             {
              // method body
             }
   
        // this is ok, too
        function bar()
               {
                // method body
               }
   
        // this is ok, too, indent five spaces to align with 'public'
        function bar()
             {
              // method body
             }
   
        // this is ok, too, because it has at least five spaces indented for body code
        function bar()
        {
              // code body.
              // notice the placing of "{}" at the same level as the method declaration.
              // notice also the indented five spaces for coding statements
              // starting position
              // .....
        }
       } // end class body
      ?>

   
   Notice that the parentheses are aligned vertically at the same level of indentation. This applies to all other code blocks/structures that contain parentheses, e.g., if/elseif/else, for() and foreach() loops. This makes it very easy to visualize the block of code, especially if the code is very lengthy.
   
   Note also that the examples showed multiple styles of indentation, but you need to decide which one is more suited to your style and stick with it consistently and do not use one variation for certain project and another for another project. Be consistent and choose one style and stick with it for the long haul.
   
   Traits: Traits are special form of class and they are similar to a normal class.
   
   

   trait ArrayHelper
       {
        // main body code of a trait
       }

   CSS: For CSS and other languages (such as Javascript, Java, C#, C/C++, etc.) do follow the guideline outlined in this coding standard and follow a five-space rule to align with 'public' visibility clause. For examples:
   
   

   <style>
   html,
   body
       {
        width: 100%;
        height: 100%;
        background-color: #e6e6ff;
       }
   
   #product-item
       {
        background-color: white;
        padding-left: 10px;
        padding-right: 10px;
       }
   
   div .some-selector
       {
        background-color: white;
        width: 400px;
        height: 200px;
       }
   
   .nav li > form > button.logout
       {
        padding: 15px;
        border: none;
       }
   
   a.asc:after, a.desc:after
       {
        position: relative;
        top: 1px;
        display: inline-block;
        font-family: 'Glyphicons Halflings';
        font-style: normal;
        font-weight: normal;
        line-height: 1;
        padding-left: 5px;
       }
   
   a.asc:after
       {
        content: "\e151";
       }
   
   a.desc:after
       {
        content: "\e152";
       }
   </style>
   
   <script type="text/javascript">
   $(document).ready(function()
       {
        public function example(arg)
             {
              // function code
             }
   
        // this is ok, too
        function example(arg)
               {
                // function code
               }
   
        // this ok, too, to align with 'public'
        function example(arg)
             {
              // function code
             }
   
        // this ok, too
        static public function example(arg)
             {
              // function code
             }
       });
   </script>
    

   
   Notice the braces are aligned vertically and indented at the same amount of spaces (5).
   
   HTML: Always use lower-cased letters for HTML tags with the exception of the doctype interface. The heading code (or tags), e.g., meta, link, script, etc need not be indented but the css, javascript code, and the code inside the body tag MUST be indented of at least three spaces and can be indented up to six spaces. For example:
   
   

   <!DOCTYPE html>
   <html lang="en-US">
   <head>
   <title>Untitled</title>
   <meta charset="UTF-8">
   <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
   <meta name="language" content="en" >
   <link href="./asset/44ab1983/css/style.css" rel="stylesheet">
   <script src="./asset/16eb9947/jquery.js"></script>
   <style>
   html,
   body
       {
        width: 100%;
        height: 100%;
        background-color: #e6e6ff;
       }
   
   #product-item
       {
        background-color: white;
        padding-left: 10px;
        padding-right: 10px;
       }
   </style>
   
   <script type="text/javascript">
   $(document).ready(function()
       {
        public function example(arg)
             {
              // function code
             }
       });
   </script>
   
   </head>
   
   <body>
        <div>
            content of the div
        </div>
   
        <div>
          <table>
            <tr>
              <td>
                td content
              </td>
            </tr>
          </table>
        </div>
   
        <div>
          content of the div
          <a href="#">link</a>
        </div>
   </body>
   </html>
   



6. Control hierarchical structures
   
   For a better view of the hierarchical structures and indentations, see the preview example earlier.
   
   if, elseif, else
   
   An if structure looks like the following. Note the placement of parentheses, indentation of spaces, and braces; and that else and elseif are aligned vertically on different lines as the closing brace from the earlier body. Notice also the use of braces to group a single statement even though it is not required. Doing so improves readability and eliminates unforced errors.
   
   DO NOT place the opening parenthesis on the same line as the condition expression, and do not place the closing parenthesis on the same line as the elseif/else condition expression. This applies to other control clauses as well, such as foreach, while, do ... while, etc.
   
   

   <?php
   if ($expr1)
      {
       // single statement block. notice the use of braces even though it is not required!
      }
   elseif ($expr2)
      {
       // elseif code block. single statement block
      }
   elseif ($expr3)
      {
       // multiple statements code block
       // multiple statements code block
       // multiple statements code block
      }
   else
      {
       // else single statement block code block
      }
      

   
   switch, case
   
   A switch structure looks like the following. Note the placement of parentheses, indentation of spaces, and braces. The case statement MUST be indented for the length of the keyword 'switch' from switch, and the break keyword (or other terminating keyword) MUST be indented at the same level as the case block. Statements inside the case block MUST indent to the start if case condition's first position. For example, if case 0, the indentation of the case statements should align vertically with '0'. There MUST be a comment such as // no break when fall-through is intentional in a non-empty case block (see case 1, 2, 3, 4). Notice that there are no break clauses in any of them.
   
   DO NOT place the opening parenthesis on the same line as the switch condition expression, and do not place the closing parenthesis on the same line as the last break clause of the switch clause. This applies to other control clauses as well, such as foreach, while, do ... while, etc.
   
   

   <?php
   switch ($expr)
        {
         case 0:
              echo 'First case, with a break';
         break;
         case 1:
              echo 'Second case, which falls through';
              // no break
         case 2:
         case 3:
         case 4:
              echo 'Third case, return instead of break';
              return;
         default:
              echo 'Default case';
         break;
        }
      

   
   while, do while, for, foreach, try, catch
   
   The guidelines for all these clauses are basically identical to one another and follow what I call a common sense rule, and that is, the placement of parentheses, spaces, indentations, and braces follow the guidelines outlined thus far. So looking back at the indentation of the switch clause we can see that the indentation is to the length of the keyword 'switch'. This applies to the rest of the clauses as well. So a while statement looks like the following. Note the placement of parentheses, spaces, indentation of spaces, and braces. The braces are all on seperate lines from the clause, even for a (do ... while) condition.
   
   

   <?php
   while ($expr)
       {
        // structure of code block
       }
      

   
   Similarly, a do while statement looks like the following. Notice the placement of braces.
   
   

   <?php
   do
    {
     // structure of code block;
    }
   while ($expr);
      

   
   It can also be like the following as well. Notice the placement of braces which aligned directly with the end of the keyword 'while'.
   
   

   <?php
   do
       {
        // structure of code block;
       }
   while ($expr);
      

   
   A for() loop structure is also identical to other condition clauses and follow what I call a common sense rule that looks like the following. Note the placement of parentheses, spaces, and braces. Notice the indentation to the first position after a space following the keyword 'for'. This rule applies to try, and catch as well but not to foreach() in which it indents to the last position of the keyword 'foreach'.
   
   

   <?php
   for ($i = 0; $i < 10; $i++)
       {
        // for code block
       }
      

   
   A foreach statement looks like the following. Note the placement of parentheses, spaces, and braces. It indents to the last position of the keyword 'foreach'.
   
   

   <?php
   foreach ($iterable as $key => $value)
         {
          // foreach code block
         }
      

   
   A try...catch block looks like the following. Note the placement of parentheses, spaces, and braces. The braces indents one space past the last position of the keyword 'try' to align the braces of the 'catch' clause.
   
   

   <?php
   try
       {
        // try code block
       }
   catch (FirstExceptionType $e)
       {
        // catch code block
       }
   catch (OtherExceptionType $e)
       {
        // catch code block
       }
      



7. Closures
   
   Closures MUST be declared with NO space after the function keyword, and a space before the use keyword, but no space after the use keyword.
   
   The opening brace MUST go on a seperate line as is typically for all braces, and the closing brace MUST go on the next line following the body as is typically for all braces.
   
   There MUST NOT be a space after the opening parenthesis of the argument list or variable list, and there MUST NOT be a space before the closing parenthesis of the argument list or variable list.
   
   In the argument list and variable list, there MUST NOT be a space before each comma, and there MUST be one space after each comma. Closure arguments with default values MUST go at the end of the argument list.
   
   A closure declaration looks like the following. Note the placement of parentheses, commas, spaces, indentations (five spaces) and braces:
   
   

   <?php
   $closureWithArg = function($arg1, $arg2)
        {
         // body
        };
      

   
   Or you do this:
   
   

   <?php
   $longArg_noVar = function(
                             $longArgument,
                             $longerArgument,
                             $muchLongerArgument
                            )
        {
         // code body
        };
   
   $noArg_longVar = function()
        use(
            /* notice naming variables using enumerated variables, */
            /* although $longVar1 is fine */
            $longVar1,
            /* notice naming variables using enumerated variables, */
            /* although $longVar2 is fine */
            $longerVar2,
            /* notice naming variables using enumerated variables, */
            /* although $longVar3 is fine */
            $muchLongerVar3
           )
        {
         // code body
        };
   
   $longArg_longVar = function(
                               $longArgument,
                               $longerArgument,
                               $muchLongerArgument
                              )
        use(
            // readability: indents some spaces
            $longVar1,
            $longerVar2,
            $muchLongerVar3
           )
        {
         // code body
        };
   
   // this is ok too
   $longArg_shortVar = function(
                                $longArgument,
                                $longerArgument,
                                $muchLongerArgument
                               ) use($var1)
        {
         // code body
        };
   
   // this is ok, too
   $shortArg_longVar = function($arg) use(
                                          $longVar1,
                                          $longerVar2,
                                          $muchLongerVar3
                                         )
        {
         // code body
        };
      

   
   Note that the formatting rules also apply when the closure is used directly in a function or method call as an argument.
   
   

   <?php
   $foo->bar(
             $arg1,
             function($arg2) use($var1)
                 {
                  // code body
                 },
             $arg3
            );
      

   
   A Brief Few Words About the Use() Function
   
   Use() is a PHP special function that allows the passing of anonymous function argument variables into the code block of the closure. For example, in the above closure, use() contains one argument called $var1 and this $var1 argument variable is passed in from the outside and gets used by the anonymous function.
   
   If you look at the next one up from the one above, that use() contains three argument variables called $longVar1, $longerVar2, and $muchLongerVar3, and these three argument variables are passed in from the outside. For more on user(), please checkout PHP documentation.
   
   The following are not my coding standard -- they are from PSR-1 and PSR-2, and if overlapping, my coding standard above should take precedent and override these third-party standards. If any standard in these two versions, PSR-1 and PSR-2, are overlapping, PSR-2 takes precedent over PSR-1.
   
   Please visit their website for more. Here is a summary of the third-party standards.
   



8. Third-Party Standards
   
   PSR-1 - Basic Coding Standard
   PSR-2 - Coding Style Guide
   
   Introduction
   
   Some noteworthy rules:
   
   Use camelCase, not_underscores, for variable names, function names, method names, and arguments names.
   
   PSR-1 - Basic Coding Standard
   
   Files MUST use only UTF-8 without BOM for PHP code.
   
   Files SHOULD either declare symbols (classes, functions, constants, etc.) or cause side-effects (e.g. generate output, change .ini settings, etc.) but SHOULD NOT do both.
   
   Namespaces and classes MUST follow an "autoloading" PSR: [PSR-0, PSR-4].
   
   Class names MUST be declared in StudlyCaps.
   
   Class constants MUST be declared in all upper case with underscore separators.
   
   Method names MUST be declared in camelCase.
   
   Namespace and Class Names
   
   Namespaces and classes MUST follow an "autoloading" PSR: [PSR-0, PSR-4].
   
   This means each class is in a file by itself, and is in a namespace of at least one level: a top-level vendor name.
   
   Class names MUST be declared in StudlyCaps.
   
   Code written for PHP 5.3 and after MUST use formal namespaces.
   
   For example:
   
   

   <?php
   // PHP 5.3 and later:
   namespace Vendor\Model;
     
   class Foo
       {
   	 // code block
       }
      

   
   Code written for 5.2.x and before SHOULD use the pseudo-namespacing convention of Vendor_ prefixes on class names.
   
   

   <?php
   // PHP 5.2.x and earlier:
   class Vendor_Model_Foo
       {
   	 // code block
       }
      

   
   Class Constants, Properties, and Methods
   
   The term "class" refers to all classes, interfaces, and traits.
   
   Constants
   
   Class constants MUST be declared in all upper case with underscore separators. For example:
   
   

   <?php
   namespace Vendor\Model;
     
   class Foo
       {
        const VERSION = '1.0';
        const DATE_APPROVED = '2012-06-01';
       }
      

   
   Properties
   
   This guide intentionally avoids any recommendation regarding the use of $StudlyCaps, $camelCase, or $under_score property names. Whatever naming convention is used SHOULD be applied consistently within a reasonable scope. That scope may be vendor-level, package-level, class-level, or method-level.
   
   Methods
   
   Method names MUST be declared in camelCase().
   
   PSR-2 - Coding Style Guide
   
   Overview
   
   
   • Code MUST follow a "coding style guide" PSR [PSR-1].
   
   
   • Code MUST use 4 spaces for indenting, not tabs.
   
   
   • There MUST NOT be a hard limit on line length; the soft limit MUST be 120 characters; lines SHOULD be 80 characters or less.
   
   
   • There MUST be one blank line after the namespace declaration, and there MUST be one blank line after the block of use declarations.
   
   
   • Opening braces for classes MUST go on the next line, and closing braces MUST go on the next line after the body.
   
   
   • Opening braces for methods MUST go on the next line, and closing braces MUST go on the next line after the body.
   
   
   • Visibility MUST be declared on all properties and methods; abstract and final MUST be declared before the visibility; static MUST be declared after the visibility.
   
   
   • Control structure keywords MUST have one space after them; method and function calls MUST NOT.
   
   
   • Opening braces for control structures MUST go on the same line, and closing braces MUST go on the next line after the body.
   
   
   • Opening parentheses for control structures MUST NOT have a space after them, and closing parentheses for control structures MUST NOT have a space before. Example
     
     This example encompasses some of the rules below as a quick overview:
     
     

     <?php
     namespace Vendor\Package;
       
     use FooInterface;
     use BarClass as Bar;
     use OtherVendor\OtherPackage\BazClass;
       
     class Foo extends Bar implements FooInterface
         {
          public function sampleFunction($a, $b = null)
               {
                if ($a === $b)
                   {
                    bar();
                   }
                elseif ($a > $b)
                   {
                    $foo->bar($arg1);
                   }
                else
                   {
                    BazClass::bar($arg2, $arg3);
                   }
               }
     
          final public static function bar()
              {
               // method body
              }
         }
        

     
     

What is the difference between a class and an object ?

Both class and object have the same meaning and both achieve the same purpose but differ only in the way they're implemented and used.

A class consists of constant variables, properties, and methods. Those are the three basic attributes of a class. That's all a class is: it has three attributes -- a very simple concept and yet very powerful.

Consider the following class definition:

<?php
class MyClass
    {
     // 1st attribute of the class (MyClass):
     // declaring class constant variables
     // COMMAND_EVENT_START, COMMAND_BEFORE_START,
     // COMMAND_AFTER_START are constant variables
     // command_start, before_start, after_start are constant values

     const COMMAND_BEFORE_START = 'before_start';
     const COMMAND_EVENT_START = 'command_start';
     const COMMAND_AFTER_START = 'after_start';

     // 2nd attribute of the class (MyClass):
     class properties: properties must be declared prefacing with visibility control
     public, protected, private are visibility control:

     public $make = 'Toyota';
     protected $model = 'Tundra';
     private $color = 'grey';

     // 3rd attribute of the class (MyClass):
     class methods: methods must be declared prefacing with visibility control
     public, protected, private are visibility control:

     public function test1()
          {
           // will output: An object is just a copy of the class.
           echo "An object is just a copy of the class." . "\n";
          }

     public function test2($str)
          {
           // will output whatever string got passed in via $str
           echo $str . "\n";
          }
    }
?>

And then consider this object creation:

$str = 'An object is just a copy of the class.';

creating an instance of MyClass()
$obj is an instance of the class MyClass. it is a copy or a clone of MyClass.
$obj = new MyClass();

$obj->test1($str);
will output an error message saying argument $str is undefined in test1().

$obj->test1();
will output ---->  An object is just a copy of the class.

$obj->test2();
will output an error message saying test2() requires at least one argument.

$obj->test2($str);
will output -----> An object is just a copy of the class.

A class is the program you write (i.e., the MyClass class implementation above); while object (i.e., $obj) is the copy of the class or the clone of the class, most often being known as the instance of the class.

A class resides in ROM (permanent memory area) whereas object (i.e., $obj) resides in RAM (temporary memory area.)

In ROM, data is stored there permanently even when the computer is turned off. In a RAM memory area, on the other hand, data get stored temporarily while the program is running or while the computer is still turned on. When the computer is turned off, the RAM data (i.e., $obj) is completely erased and is no longer stored in the RAM.

Instances of a class can be useful only while the program is running or while the computer is turned on; and when the program is not running or when the computer is turned off, instances of a class are no longer useful to a program, and, therefore, it is stored in a temporary memory area.

Instances of a class can be created 'on the fly' at any time when needed by a program [as you can see above: $obj = new MyClass()].

Instances of a class are often being created from everywhere when needed (i.e., libraries, frameworks, and other classes, etc.)

So there is no need to store instances of a class permanently in permanent memory spaces and wasting valuable memory spaces.

What is a FileZilla ?

It is typically being used by website owners who need to upload their website files from their local computer to a remote server that their website is hosting on. You can also use FileZilla to download files from a remote server that your website is hosting on as well.

So it is a file transfer application using an FTP file transferring protocol. So FTP is an acronym for File Transfer Protocol.

As always, lots of tutorials on this subject are available on the Internet, particularly on YouTube and elsewhere in HTML. So instead of actually doing a tutorial that can be found easily on the Internet, I'm going to just refer you to those tutorials and let you follow those tutorials instead. Why is there a need for me to do a tutorial that is readily available on the Internet? The answer is that absolutely no!

So here we go:

Introduction to FileZilla

How to use FileZilla

How to use FileZilla

How to use FileZilla

Here are brief summaries of steps on how to configure FileZilla client after you'd watched tutorials listed above and as well as having FileZilla downloaded and installed onto your computer.

1. Download the FileZilla onto your computer.

2. Once you've downloaded it, extract it using zip extracting applications like WinZip Express Zip WinRAR or WinRAR here! PeaZip

3. Collecting FTP Details

   After you installed FileZilla onto your local computer, you now are ready for the transferring process. But first thing first, you need to gather the FTP details of your hosting account. Each hosting provider is different in how they layout their FTP information. For Hostinger users, the information is located in the hPanel's menu, under:

   Files -> FTP Accounts

   Most hosting providers have a dashboard area or webspace area where you can see options to choose to go into more specific tasks. For example, for my hosting provider, it has a dashboard that shows all kinds of options for me to choose. For example:

Here, when I click on an FTP Manager, it takes me to an FTP manager area where I can setup/create FTP accounts. In the FTP manager I can create an account by creating a username and a password. I will need these information that I created to be used in the FileZilla. Here is what the inforamtion in the FTP manager looks like:

Once you have an FTP information, you can use it to configure FileZilla. Now all you have to do is click on your FileZilla icon to open it and you'll see a screen that looks like the following:

As you can see in the diagram above, on the left side is for a local working area or section. This is where you can configure your connection information and selecting files or directories to upload to a destination on the right side. On the right side is a remote site or destination area to upload to.

In the above diagram, you can provide information to do a "quick connect" connection. However, I strongly suggest that you don't use a quick connect but instead go through a longer connect, which I will detail it for you. It will save you time later on. A quick connect doesn't remember your connection setting after your computer is turned off, while a longer connection will.

Here is for the longer and more efficient connection:

Click on "File" at the top left corner of the diagram shown above. The drop-down menu will reveal several options but you want to choose "Site Manager" option. A site manager screen should open up and should looks like the following:

Pay close attention to a section called "Select Entry" where all of your FTP accounts are to be created. In my case, I have four FTP accounts: one account to connect to a Monday-Sunday website FTP hosting account; another to connect to a Noon2Noon.NET FTP hosting account; another to a Postal FTP hosting account; and finally to a ZeroNilZilch FTP hosting account.

So in my case, I have four different hosting service providers, and, therefore, I need to have four different entry names (Monday-Sunday, Noon2Noon.NET, Postal, ZeroNilZilch), each connecting to its individual FTP account.

So in your case, the "Select Entry" section and "My Sites" area should be empty because you haven't create a "New Site" yet.

To create a "New Site" entry name similar to the four shown in my case, click on another option called "New Site" down below at the bottom of the diagram. Once you click on "New Site" option, an entry inside the "Select Entry" under "My Sites" area will appear for you to enter an entry name similar to the four entry names that I've created.

Name your entry name any name you like. It's just a name to differentiate from one entry name to another.

Once you created an entry name, you need to configure FileZilla to connect to your FTP hosting account by hi-lighting an entry name similar to what is shown with ZeroNilZilch right now. As you can see, once you hi-light it, the entire diagram flickers and changes the configruation and reveals input boxes for you to enter an FTP information.

For example, for me, I hi-lighted or selected 'ZeroNilZilch' in the "Select Entry" section, and then to the right, I entered 'zeronilzilch.com' in the host box.

This information is obtained from my FTP hosting account created earlier. In your case, you can get this information and the rest of the FTP information from your FTP hosting account.

For port, I use 21, which is a common port for a shared hosting. All you need to know about port is that if you rent or use a free web hosting from any vendor, use port 21, because most likely they're shared hosting. All shared hostings use port 21.

For protocol, select FTP; for encryption select FTP over TLS (just like what it looks like on the screen); for logon type, use 'Normal'; for user (or username) enter the actual FTP username you got from your hosting vendor; likewise, for the FTP password.

That is it! Nothing else to enter. Very easy! Now all you have to do is click on the button "Connect" to connect to your FTP hosting server to begin the transfer process.

After you click on "Connect" it should looks similar to the partial diagram shown below. I show only partial diagram to avoid revealing my other information to the public. But this partial diagram should give you a good idea of how it works.

As you can see, it is very easy to use FileZilla.

Now since you've created your connection the longer and more efficient way, next time you need to connect to your FTP account, just open up your FileZilla application that should looks like the default view similar to the one that has a "quick connect" option on it (shown earlier).

Yes, that is the default view of FileZilla (shown earlier) allowing you to either do a "quick connect" or do a longer more efficient connect.

So since you went through a series of steps to do a longer and more efficient connect already, now all you have to do is click on one of two things:

1. First the hard way:

   You can click on "File" at the top left corner of the diagram shown above. The drop-down menu will reveal several options but you want to choose "Site Manager" option.

   A site manager screen should open up and should looks like the "Site Manager" diagram shown earlier. From there, all you have to do is hi-light an entry name to make it looks like the one shown on "ZeroNilZilch." This will activate your FTP account setting and ready to be connected to. Next, just click on the "Connect" button and it will try to connect to your FTP hosting account.

   Well, that was somewhat the hard way. Sort of!

2. Now the easy way:

   The same thing: you can click on "down arrow" or a drop-down menu just below "File" at the top left corner of the diagram shown above. The drop-down menu will reveal an entry name (or several entry names if you have more than one as in my case).

   Now all you have to do is click on an entry name in the drop-down menu and a "Site Manager" showing your entry name is shown ready to be connected to your FTP hosting account. Next, just click on "Connect" button and it will try to connect to your FTP hosting account.

Once connected it should looks something like a partial diagram shown below.

Since it is a partial listing of the actual full view, you're not able to see all options you can do with the connection. You'll have to make use your FileZilla on your own from here on. It is very easy because all the hard part has been explained and now is just the easy part.

Well actually, you can see a somewhat full view of the default view shown earlier and you should get a good idea of how you can select a particular file or directory to upload to.

But briefly, as you can see from the above diagram, there are two parts: one on the left side contains your local file directories where you can select and upload them to the destination on the right side. Simple enough?

On the left, because of a partial listing, I am not able to show you that you can actually select or pull down a drop-down menu to select any directory from your local computer to upload to the destination on the right side. Yes, you can select or pull down a drop-dwon menu on the left side and select any directories or files to upload to the destination on the right side.

Likewise, on the right side, you can select (or pull down a menu--well, mainly select) a directory to receive the content being uploaded to it. In other words, to upload a file or files or directory or directories, you need to know where in directory destination you want to upload the content from the left side to on the right side. Self-explanatory!

Once you've selected the destination directory on the right, and then you can go ahead and upload the content on the left side by hi-lighting or selecting it and right-click it to reveal several options. One of the options is "upload" and select "upload" to upload it. Self-explanatory!

Likewise, on the right, you select a particular file or files or directory or directories by hi-lighting it and then right-click it to reveal several options. One of the options is "download" and click on it to download. Self-explanatory!

That is it! Have fun using FileZilla.

A very brief introduction to one of the most important and valuable pattern programming methodology that ever developed in the programming world: MVC

What is an MVC ?

An MVC is an acronym for Model View Controller.

It is a methodology to uniform the way people program applications. Remember that in programming, programmers tend to have their own unique way of doing things and that causes a lot of confusions, especially in a team work where programmers are working in the same project. There is no way of knowing what each programmer is trying to do in the same project. There is a compatibility issue.

There is no uniform pattern way of doing things; each programmer is doing things each his/her own way of doing things; for example, in a team work in the same organization working on the same project, one programmer puts data handling with the organization of that data while another programmer puts the same data handling with the displaying of that data to users; and the two programmers are completely oblivious to what the other programmer is trying to do.

This causes the finished product to be in-efficient, in-compatible, and not robust and not to mention the cost of having programmers to do other similar projects that take a long time to complete because of the codes are not re-usable.

So to be efficient, robust, scalable, upgradable, re-usable, and easy to maintain, it has to be a unique way of doing things for all programmers to understand and work in a uniform way so that all programmers can know systematically what the other programmers are doing in the same project, even if each programmer is located far away from each other and haven't seen each other's actual work.

To solve this issue, the MVC was developed.

To understand the concept of MVC, think of it in term of an organization mentioned above where there is a manager, some programmers, and the customers who want to get the application done.

The customer is the view presenting to the manager of what to be done, telling the manager the criterio of what need to be done. For example, the customer may wants the website that has ecommerce and social media applications capability installed in it.

The manager is the controller, handling the organization (or criterio) of the task dictating and given by the customer.

The programmers are the model handling of data or instructions given by the manager and using those instructions from the manager to proceed to do all of the programming work.

Notice that the manager, or the controller, does not know how programmers perform their tasks for the project: he/she doesn't care how their programmers do their jobs as long as their programmers perform the task that meets the criterio given to them.

Likewise, the programmers know nothing about who the customer is and what he/she looks like or wants. The programmers don't really care who the customers are; all they care about is getting the task done.

Likewise, the customer knows nothing about who the programmers are and what they look like or where they're at or from. The customer only cares about is getting the website completed in the agreed timeframe.

And also, the programmers don't know how the manager got the instructions or whom he'd or she'd got it from. The programmers don't know what the heck the manager is doing either: the programmers just don't care what the manager is doing or how he/she is doing. It's not their job to know what the manager is doing.

Keep this seperation of concern in mind when you're dealing with MVC pattern.

As you can see, the three parties are completely independence of one another: in other words, they don't need to know what the other is doing or how the other is doing things. They all can do things in their own seperate unique ways without intertwine with one another.

Now imagine you're a large or small organization where you have lots of programmers working on all kinds of applications large or small and those programmers are spreading all over the world.

If all these programmers know MVC pattern, they can work on the same projects in different part of the world without knowing what the other programmers are doing on the same projects that they're working on.

This is the beauty of an MVC pattern where one group of developers working on the same project as the other group is located in far away from each other and they still can accomplish the same project without knowing what the other groups are doing.

In an MVC pattern, each party is seperate from one another and each party knows nothing about what the other party is doing. In an MVC pattern, each party doesn't need to know what the other party is doing as long as each party is doing its job in a unique/uniform way using MVC pattern.

Let's review: the customer requests to the manager telling the manager of what kind of application needs to be done; the manager, in turn, tells the programmers what tasks need to be done. That is all! Nothing else!

The customer doesn't know what the manager or the programmers are doing as long as the application gets done; while at the same time, the manager doesn't need to know what the programmers are doing as long as the task of getting the application done; and likewise, the programmers don't need to know what the customer looks like and how that customer's exact words to the manager--it doesn't matter.

When you approach to building an application in an MVC pattern, think of the above analogy -- it will help you a lot.

Here is a brief example on how to program in an MVC pattern.

In an abstract way, usually the index.php front page or a catalog page or an HTML form is the view 'V' rendering the page to the customers/users to allow customer/users to navigate throught the page looking to do/order things.

In the index.php front page or a catalog page or form, there should be some buttons or links for customers/users to navigate to the products or area of interest.

That's all the view 'V' is; nothing special: just HTML pages or forms that contain contents and buttons or links. Nothing else!

Now when a customer/user clicks on the button or link, it redirects the customer/user to another part of the website or sometimes to another remote site.

Now before it reaches another part of the website or another website remotely, it has to go through a controller 'C' (or a middle man or a manager in our case). It has to hand over the instructions to the manager to decide on what to do next. Logically, a manager will hand over the instructions to programmers to start performing the tasks.

Remember that the programmers are the model M who do all the heavy work.

In the case of a button or link, it contains a url to redirect to:

'http://www.example.com/index.php?site/controller'

Before I show you how to parse this url (above), I want to show you the server access command using .htaccess file. Put this file in the same directory as your index.php in the root directory of your project. This index.php file is typically called a starting script file.

This is the hand over the instructions to the programmers using routes.

Open up your text editor and create a file called .htaccess and put the following content inside it.

File: .htaccess

<?php
/** the .htaccess file starts with this line **/

RewriteEngine on

/** the above line says turn on the server **/

RewriteBase /

/** the above line says look for content after http://www.example.com/ **/
/** with '/' being the last '/' after '.com' **/


/** next line says allow all directories to go through **/

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d

/** next line says allow all files to go through **/

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f

/** next line is the rule pertaining to the url **/
/** this rule says look in an index.php as in http://www.example.com/index.php **/

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php?url=$1 [L,QSA]

/** continuing on above line: after the '?' is the querystring **/
/** this is like: ?site/controller/param1/param2/para3/... **/
/** so this string: url=$1 [L,QSA] is just for the server to read **/
/** the "L" stands for link, the Q for query, S for string, A for append **/

/** the below two lines are just more rules and server options **/
/** the first allow json file to go through and the second for options **/

RewriteRule \.(json)$ - [F]
Options -Indexes

/** you don't need to understand any of this content in this file **/
/** just use it "AS IS" but don't forget to remove my text description! **/

/** one important note: don't forget to remove the RewriteBase / entirely **/
/** if for some reason your website doesn't load! **/
/** I found that for some shared hosting it causes a problem! **/
/** so if it doesn't load, just remove the RewriteBase / entirely **/

/** for more on this topic, please Google the Web and there are **/
/** plenty of tutorials on the Internet! **/

?>

What the above .htaccess file does is allowing you to do like this on your url route:

<a href="http://www.example.com/site/controller/param1/param2/param3/...">link</a>

or just:

<a href="site/controller/param1/param2/param3/...">link</a>

For img:

<img src="image/picture_1.jpg">

Notice that for img tag, there is no route needed. The img tags are typically being used in the view to display images, and, therefore, routes are not needed. So you simply specify the src attribute that points to the directory of the image as you normally do in a non-MVC way.

For forms:

<form method="GET" action="http://www.example.com/site/controller/param1/param2/param3/..."></form>

Or just:

<form method="GET" action="site/controller/param1/param2/param3/..."></form>

For buttons:

<button type="button" onclick="http://www.example.com/site/controller/param1/param2/param3/..."></button>

Or just:

<button type="button" onclick="site/controller/param1/param2/param3/..."></button>

Basically, instead of having to write a complete route of

<a href="http://www.example.com/site/controller/param1/param2/param3/...">link</a>

on every link that you need, all you have to do is write just the querystring:

<a href="site/controller/param1/param2/param3/...">link</a>.

That's what the .htaccess file is for: allowing you to do a shortcut!

You will often route your form like this:

<form action="http://www.example.com/user/signup/param1/param2/param3/..." method="GET">

Or in a shortcut like this:

<form action="user/signup/param1/param2/param3/..." method="GET">

to route your user to the signup page. Notice that this is for a "GET" method. For a "POST" method see below.

The user part is the controller 'C' and the signup is the action. The rest are just "GET" method querystring.

If it is user/signup/id/guest/vip/ then user (the first part is always the controller 'C' and the second part signup is always the action, and the rest are extra GET parameters or querystring to send to the route.

In this case, there are three extra parameters that are being sent to the route: id, guest, and vip.

Please check out tutorials on the Internet to learn all these terms. The two most important terms are controller and action. Make sure you know what these two are and how to use them.

Hint: the controller is the class and the action is the method of the controller class. For example: user/signup.

<?php
// this is the controller
class User
    {
     // this is the action
     public function signup()
          {
           // method code
          }
    }
?>

Note that you can use "POST" method as well and it will route your route via a "POST" and not via a "GET". For example:

<?php
<form action="user/signup" method="post">
<input type="hidden" name="id" value="My_id_123">
<input type="hidden" name="guest" value="This is the guest content">
<input type="hidden" name="vip" value="This is the vip content">
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
?>

The above form sends the POST variables to the route: user/signup. The .htaccess file routes this request through a normal HTTP REQUEST channel using a POST method.

DO NOT add the querystring in the POST method like you do with a GET method. This is illegal: user/signup/id/guest/vip/.

Remember that you handle a POST request the usual way where you send it to; for example, in the above case, it sends to the controller or class 'User' to execute the method signup(). Somewhere in the class 'User', particularly in the method signup(), is where you handle the request by doing this: $_POST['id'], $_POST['guest'], $_POST['vip'].

The keyword here is 'somewhere' because as you know the HTTP REQUEST once it is sent, it is available everywhere. So for class 'User', it is available everywhere inside it. Self-explanatory!

Now we need to parse the route or querystring.

This is also part of the handover of the instructions to programmers.

<?php
class route
    {
     public $base = array();

     // now your main controller class will need to call
     // this method init()

     // you can do it inside your index.php starting file or from
     // inside your main application file, for example:
     // $route = new route();
     // $route->init();

     // for an example of a starting script file, see my other tutorial
     // called "how to autoload classes using SPL" and there is an
     // index.php file example shown at the very end of that tutorial!

     // see a lengthy explanation of the difference between an
     // index.php starting script file and the index.php/index.html
     // front page view [below]!

     public function init()
          {
           // class Base is the base controller class
           // I haven't written it yet! Maybe I won't!

           // did I mentioned that this is a very brief tutorial?
           // this will not be a complete tutorial! just to give you
           // an idea to move forward!

           // check out the Internet on topic of "MVC" base controller class!
           // basically, the "controller base class" is the main application
           // class that handles all the logic of the entire application.
           // see an example in my other tutorial called
           // "how to autoload classes using SPL"

           $this->base = new Base();

           //get the url fragments from the url
           $this->splitUrl();

           // you need to require/include the appropriate file directory
           require_once 'resource/dispatch/dispatcher.php';
           $dispatch = new dispatcher();

           // basically test to see if the url fragment in $x1 exists!
           // suppose that a visitor of your website types in the
           // url bar: example.com and the browser will try to
           // to load: http://www.example.com/index.php

           // now when it gets to splitUrl() it will return:
           // $x1 is null, $x2 is null, $x3 is null, etc.

           if (!isset($this->base->x1))
              {
               // so it comes here because $x1 is null!
               // it will load the default file index page!

               // don't be confused the default index page file with
               // the starting index.php file!

               // the two are completely different from one another!

               // the default index.php/index.html page is your index
               // front page typically can be found in the view, while
               // the starting script file index.php is the file to
               // jumpstart the application!

               // for an example of the default index.php/index.html
               // front page, see class dispatcher->init()
               // where the code that looks like this:

               // $this->base->render('index');

               // as you can see, the statement above renders the view's
               // index file: index.php/index.html in the 'view' folder!
               // that's what the statement below is doing!

               $dispatch->init();

               // for an example of the script's index.php starting file,
               // see my other tutorial called "how to autoload classes using SPL"
               // and at the very end of that tutorial,
               // there is a script file called index.php

               // this script index.php starting file should be at the root
               // of your application!

               // if you look in my other tutorial called 'getting started
               // programming for beginners', there is a section called
               // 'How to Install WAMP on Windows', particulary, step 10.
               // At the very end of that section where I show a
               // localhost containing a sample application folder called
               // "MyFirstWebsite"

               // inside that folder there are only three items: 'css' folder,
               // 'image' folder and the main starting script file 'index.php'
              }
           elseif (method_exists('dispatcher', $this->base->x1))
              {
               // now here, $x1 is NOT null!
               // this is the case where you can do in the view like this:

               //      <a href="about">About</a>
               //      <a href="affiliate">Afilliate</a>
               //      <a href="signup">Signup</a>
               //      <a href="login">Login</a>

               // this will load the controller page:

               //     dispatcher->about(), dispatcher->affiliate(),
               //     dispatcher->signup(), dispatcher->login()

               // now what happens if you put an index "home" link/route in
               // the view like the following?

               //          <a href="index">Home</a>

               // here, x1 = 'index' but there is no method called 'index'
               // in the 'dispatcher' class!

               // so it won't come here and it will fall into the default
               // condition below and displays the 'index' home page!

               // now what happens if you put a link/route in the view
               // like the following?

               //          <a href="user/signup">Signup</a>
               //          <form action="user/signup"></form>
               //          <a href="user/signup/id/guest/vip">Signup</a>
               //          <form action="user/signup/id/guest/vip"></form>

               // obviously, x1, x2, and x3, etc, are not null!
               // and therefore, it will still come here as well with:

               //          $x1 = 'user'
               //          $x2 = 'signup'
               //          $x3 = 'id'
               //          $x4 = 'guest'
               //          $x5 = 'vip'

               // in this case, only x1 and x2 are relevant and both will be
               // dispatched to the appropriate controller.
               // see class dispatcher->user() later on!

               $method = $this->base->x1;
               $dispatch->$method();
              }
           else
              {
               // this is the default condition!

               // if none of the conditions above are met,
               // it will load the default index.php page!

               // now what happens if you put a link/route in the view
               // like the following?

               //          <a href="index">Home<></a>
               //          <a href="unknown">Unkown Link</a>
               //          <a href="noroute">Not Sure</a>

               // all will come here because x1 = index, unknown, or noroute
               // and x2 is null!

               // so none of the conditions above are met,
               // so all three cases above will come here and
               // load the default index.php page!

               // note that for your "Home" link, you can use the domain name
               // as well (your domain), for example:

               //          <a href="http://www.example.com">Home</a>

               // I recommend that you use the domain name for your "Home" link
               // to avoid problems!

               // if you use index or other unknown/undefined method of the
               // controller (as shown above), it might give you an error saying:
               // "Can't load the page! Please check your url to make sure it is
               // the correct link!"

               // so using the domain name as your "Home" link ensures that it
               // will load the default index.php page every time! no errors!

               $dispatch->init();

               // now what happens if you put a form route in the view
               // like the following?

               //   <form action="unknown"></form>
               //   <input type="hidden" name="test" value="some test value">
               //   </form>

               // it will come here also because x1 = unknown, and x2 is null!
               // here is the problem: the browser is confused!

               // some browsers will load the default index.php and some browsers
               // don't know what to do and display an error: Can't load the page!

               // notice that we're talking about forms and not anchors!
               // so the browser is confused!

               // if it is an anchor it is probably okay and not confused!
               // to solve this problem, for forms use the correct route:
               // user/login, cart/addtocart, etc.

               // so be aware of these scenarios!
               // in other words, make sure you specify the correct route/link!
              }
          }

     // handling the incoming instructions from the view!

     // if the controller exists then call the controller
     // also store the properties in the main application object to
     // be used later: $this->base->x1

     public function splitUrl()
          {
           // if you look in the .htaccess file you'll see this:
           // RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php?url=$1 [L,QSA]

           // check if the url GET parameter is set
           // now the 'url' part is where we test for!
           if (isset($_GET['url']))
              {
               // load the url into url variable
               $url = $_GET['url'];

               // trim the url to remove slashes on right:
               // user/signup/id/guest/vip/

               // becomes:
               // user/signup/id/guest/vip

               $url = rtrim($url, '/');

               // break the url into fragments:

               // $url[0] = 'user', $url[1] = 'signup', $url[2] = 'id',
               // $url[3] = 'guest', $url[4] = 'vip'

               // what happens if a user types in the url bar like:
               //       http://www.example.com ?

               // splitUrl() will try to split the GET parameters and $url is null!
               // in other words, splitUrl() cannot split the GET parameter:
               // there is none!

               // and the foreach ($url) loop below will return null as well!
               // and therefore, x1, x2, x3 also will be null!

               // now what happens if you put a link/route like the following?

               //          <a href="about">About</a>
               //          <a href="affiliate">Afilliate</a>
               //          <a href="signup">Signup</a>
               //          <a href="login">Login</a>

               // it will split the url and $url contains an array of one element:

               //          $url[0] = 'about'
               //          $url[0] = 'affiliate'
               //          $url[0] = 'signup'
               //          $url[0] = 'login'

               // and therefore, x1 = 'about', 'affiliate', 'signup', 'login'
               // and x2 and x3 are null!

               $url = explode('/', $url);

               // load the url fragments as the object property variables
               // as x1, x2, x3 ....

               // in other words, set the main application's properties!
               // notice that in PHP, you can declare a property on the spot
               // and set it on the spot as well! very neat, huh?
               // this is exactly what happens in the method set() below!

               // you need to write a set($property, $value) in your main
               // application controller class (Base) as well as a get()
               // 
               // put the following two methods in your main base controller
               // public function set($property, $value)
               //      {
               //       $this->$property = $value;
               //      }
               // 
               // usage get():
               // 
               //    $base->get('x1'); 
               //
               // will return the controller, i.e.: user
               //
               // public function get($key)
               //      {
               //       if (isset($this->$key))
               //          {
               //           return $this->$key;
               //          }
               //       else
               //          {
               //           return null;
               //          }
               //      }

               foreach ($url as $key => $value)
                     {
                      $key++;

                      // this is basically setting class Base's properties
                      // so that we can use them later. see init() above!
                      // later, anywhere, we can do this:
                      // $base->x1, $base->x2, $base->x3

                      // this will become:
                      // x1 = $value, x2 = $value, x3 = $value ....
                      $this->base->set('x'.$key, $value);
                     }
              } // end if (isset($_GET['url']))
          } // end splitUrl()
    } // end class route
?>

Next is the dispatcher to dispatch the controller to the correct external controller.

Remember that there are two forms of controllers: internal controllers and external controllers.

In this case, the internal controllers are the class route and class dispatcher.

The external controllers are the controllers that actually doing the actual request to the models and as well as dictating to the views to display the views.

If you look in the method "user()" of the controller class "dispatcher" below, it creates an external controller by calling the createController() to create an external controller.

This is the manager who dictates to the programmers.

Remember that the manager only coordinates the job and doesn't do any heavy work at all! The heavy work is being done by the programmers.

As you can see below, the manager only asks the programmers to hand over the work by doing this: $base = new Base(). Now the manager knows nothing about what the programmers are doing inside class Base.

Now programmers all over the world can get to work on classes in their own seperate unique ways and none of them need to know what the others are doing. This is the seperation of concern of an MVC.

This example only shows one class or model; however, in a normal project large or small, there are lots of classes or models to be built and those classes or models can be given to groups of developers all over the world. And each group can work independently of one another without needing to know what the other groups are doing.

<?php
class dispatcher
    {
     public $base = array();

     // now class dispatcher's init function
     public function init()
          {
           // this method only contains two lines!

           $this->base = new Base();
           $this->base->render('index');

           // that's it!

           // the above call to render() tells the view to render
           // the actual file in the 'view' folder!

           // it is the controller telling the views to display the page
           // view!

           // the above call to render() will render the default front page:
           // resource/view/index.php or index.html

           // here is an example of render()

           // method render() renders the view.

           // this render() is incomplete as of now because I want you to
           // implement your own version of render to suite your objective!

           // how you implement your version of render() is up to you!
           // but I suggest that you implement it using only two arguments:

           //        $this->base->render($view, $template);

           // with $template, you might find it very useful to send in,
           // say, a theme, or even a model!
           // how you do it, it's up to you!

           // you can make improvements to this barebone render() to make it
           // more robust and powerful!

           // notice that render() below, $template is an array and is
           // initialized to null and you can call it like this:

           //        $this->base->render('index');
           //        $this->base->render('contact');
           //        $this->base->render('about');
           //        $this->base->render('affiliate');

           // below, the first argument is the page: index.php or contact.php
           // the second argument is the template or theme page or model or
           // whatever!

           // notice that you don't need more than two arguments!

           // put the following render() code in your main application
           // base class similar to the example class Base()

           // public function render($view, $template[] = null)
           //      {
           //       // setting the view template to default theme or whatever!
           //       // I won't show you the example and leave it for you
           //       // to implement in your own unique ways!

           //       // this "if" block needs more work to suite your objective!
           //       if ($template == null)
           //          {
           //           // set it to default theme or whatever!
           //           $template = 'default_theme';
           //          }

           //       // right here where you can branch out to different
           //       // views/files/themes

           //       // you can branch out to tidbits of snippets of code
           //       // views as well

           //       // right here, you can implement code that looks for
           //       // certain view and files that resides in a folder

           //       // it's a very good idea to implement code that can
           //       // handle views in its own folder.
           //       // that way you can put certain views in certain folders
           //       // for modularity purpose!

           //       // as stated earlier, how you implement your render()
           //       // is up to you!

           //       // but here is one possible way of doing it:

           //       // you implement your first argument that can receive
           //       // two items: view/index
           //       // with 'view' being the folder and index being the file!

           //       // you can call it like this:

           //       // $this->base->render('view/index');
           //       // $this->base->render('affiliate/index');
           //       // $this->base->render('about/index');
           //       // $this->base->render('profile/index');

           //       // OR

           //       // $this->base->render('catalog/index', $template);
           //       // $this->base->render('cart/index', $template);
           //       // $this->base->render('admin/index', $template);
           //       // $this->base->render('product/index', $template);

           //       // I won't show the latter case and leave it to you to do!

           //       // now let's illustrate the first case!
           //       // right here inside this render() you can do this:

           //       if (strpos($view, '/'))
           //          {
           //           $view = explode('/', $view);

           //           // now $view is an array of two elements: a folder and a file

           //           // $view[0] = 'view', $view[1] = 'index'
           //           // $view[0] = 'affiliate', $view[1] = 'index'
           //           // $view[0] = 'about', $view[1] = 'index'
           //           // $view[0] = 'profile', $view[1] = 'index'

           //           // from there, you can branch out to display the view from
           //           // its own folder!

           //           // as far as the second argument is concern, it is very
           //           // much can be anything: a theme or a model or anything!

           //           // right here where you refer to the view files
           //           // stored in the directory:

           //           $file = "resource/$view[0]/$view[1]" . '.php';

           //           if (file_exists($file))
           //              {
           //               require_once $file;
           //              }
           //           else
           //              {
           //               echo ("View file <b>resource/$view[0]/$view[1]</b>" .
           //               '.php not found');
           //              }
           //          }
           //       else
           //          {
           //           // you need to put all of your view files in a folder
           //           // called 'view' or whatever folder name you desire!

           //           $file = "resource/view/$view" . '.php';

           //           if (file_exists($file))
           //              {
           //               require_once $file;
           //              }
           //           else
           //              {
           //               echo ("View file <b>resource/view/$view</b>" .
           //               '.php not found');
           //              }
           //          }
           //      } // end render()
           //     *****    END OF RENDER()   *****

     // you'll have to create a file called about.php and put it
     // in the autoload directory!

     // see my other tutorial called "how to autoload classes using SPL"

     // do the same thing for the rest of these files:

     // this is the manager telling the programmers to handover the task!
     // maybe more appropriately the controller telling the view to
     // display the model or data!
     // the model is the the data to display: about.php

     // the route for this method is: <a href="about">About<>

     public function about()
          {
           $this->base->render('about');
          }

     // the controller telling the view to display the model or data!
     // the model is the the data to display: affiliate.php

     // the route for this method is: <a href="affiliate">Afilliate</a>

     public function affiliate()
          {
           $this->base->render('affiliate');
          }

     // the controller telling the view to display the model or data!
     // the model is the the data to display: signup.php

     // the route for this method is: <a href="signup">Signup</a>

     public function signup()
          {
           $this->base->render('signup');
          }

     // DIDO!

     // the route for this method is: <a href="login">Login</a>

     public function login()
          {
           $this->base->render('login');
          }

     // DIDO!

     // the route for this method is: <a href="profile">Profile</a>

     public function profile()
          {
           $this->base->render('profile');
          }

     // as you may know by the look of this controller class 'dispatcher',
     // it is very cluttered if you have lots of conttollers/actions!
     // it will make this class very hard to navigate and debug!

     // a better solution is to do what I'm attempting to do below,
     // and that is, create a controller method in your base/main
     // application class similar to this example base class Base()!

     // inside this main base class, you can create a controller method.

     // this is my attempt to make this MVC application more robust and
     // powerful by creating a controller instance and then call that
     // external controller from here to execute that external controller!

     // when a view sends a controller/action such as user/login
     // it comes here and it looks for an external controller/action to
     // route to by calling the createController() method below!

     // remember that this class dispatcher is a controller but this
     // controller can have other external controllers as well!
     // sort of manager of managers: head manager having middle managers!

     // I call them inner controllers and external controllers!

     // put this method in your main application base class similar
     // to Base()

     // public function createController($controller)
     //      {
     //       // here, you put all of your controller files in folder:
     //       // controller
     //
     //       // this will load a controller class file like these:
     //
     //       //               controller/UserController.php
     //       //               controller/AdminController.php
     //       //               controller/CartController.php
     //       //               controller/MediaController.php
     //
     //       // make sure to name your external controller files accordingly!
     //       // e.g., UserController.php, AdminController.php, etc.
     //
     //       // the reason that you append the word 'Controller' to your
     //       // external controller files is to differentiate them from
     //       // other classes, say, 'model' and 'view'!
     //
     //       // then in the external class definition, you can name your
     //       // external controller classes accordingly, e.g.,
     //
     //       // UserController, AdminController, CartController, etc.
     //
     //       // you can convert the first letter in $controller to uppercase
     //       // using function ucfirst()
     //
     //       // ucfirst($controller)
     //
     //       $file = "controller/$controller" . 'Controller' . '.php';
     //       if (file_exists($file))
     //          {
     //           require_once($file);
     //           $controllerObj = new $controller();
     //
     //           // return an instance of the controller class back to
     //           // the caller!
     //           // see an example controller class user below!
     //           return $controllerObj;
     //           }
     //        else
     //           {
     //            echo ("$controller" . 'Controller not found.');
     //           }
     //     *****    end of createController()   *****

     // right here, you group all the action methods of class 'User'
     // to call to: User->login, User->logout, User->profile, etc!
     // don't mix up with function user() below with controller class
     // 'User' later as in: createController('user')

     // the route for this method user() could be something like this:

     // <a href="user/login/id/guest/vip">Login</a>
     // or just:
     // <a href="user/login">Login</a>

     // <a href="user/logout/id/guest/vip">Logout</a>
     // or just:
     // <a href="user/logout">Logout</a>

     // <a href="user/profile/id/guest/vip">Profile</a>
     // <a href="user/admin_login/id/guest/vip">Admin Login</a>
     // <a href="user/admin_logout/id/guest/vip">Admin Logout</a>
     // <a href="user/admin_singup/id/guest/vip">Admin Signup</a>
     // <a href="user/forgot/id/guest/vip">Forgot Password<></a>
     // <a href="user/usernamecheck/id/guest/vip">Check Username</a>
     // <a href="user/emailcheck/id/guest/vip">Check Email</a>

     // and they will come here!

     public function user()
          {
           $x2 = $this->base->get('x2');
           switch ($x2)
                {
                 // the manager is asking the programmers to
                 // handover the tasks!

                 case 'login':
                 case 'logout':
                 case 'profile':
                 case 'admin_login':
                 case 'admin_logout':
                 case 'admin_singup':
                 case 'forgot':
                 case 'usernamecheck':
                 case 'emailcheck':

                 // right here, if any of the above case is met,
                 // it will come here to look for a specific
                 // controller action: $x2

                 // basically, $x2 is the action or controller
                 // method: login()

                 // we need to specify the external controller class as
                 // 'user' and it will route to that controller looking
                 // for an action method to execute!

                 // creating an external controller: 'user'
                 $this->base->createController('user')->$x2();

                 // you can pass the controller as a variable as well:
                 // $this->base->createController($x1)->$x2();
                 break;
                 default:
                      $this->init();
                }

           // as you can see, this is much more robust and powerful as it
           // allows you to route to each controller class and to look for
           // specific actions in that class!

           // you can use this example method user() to do other external
           // controller/action to make your MVC application more robust!

           // notice that you can group these actions: about(), affiliate(),
           //  signup(), login(), profile() in a class of their own similar
           // to the class 'User' and thus makes it more robust and powerful
           // and less cluttered!
          }
    } // end class dispatcher

// as you can see, createController('external_controller_class') creates
// an instance of the external controller class!

// now you need to create those external controller classes!

// here is an example of the controller class User!

// this is the controller 'user'

// or if you want to differentiate your controller classes from
// other classes, you can append the word 'Controller' to the class
// name: 'UserController'

// see createController() example above for more detail!

// class User
//     {
//      // public $base;

//      // $this->base = new Base();

//      // this is the action 'login'
//      public function login()
//           {
//            // remember that this is the controller/manager
//            // and the manager doesn't do any heavy work!
//            // so the manager usually asks the workers to
//            // do the actual heavy work!

//            // so you should never have to do any heavy programming
//            // in any of your "external" controllers!

//            // the controller should always asks the model to return
//            // true or false whether the task is successfully
//            // or not! that's all!

//            // an example of that is the creation of class Base instance
//            // above! as you can see, the controller/manager does
//            // absolutely nothing in the form of heavy work!

//            // the login credential: username and password
//            // is available at the view via: HTTP REQUEST!

//            // send it to the view: a login form!
//            $this->base-render('login');
//           }

//      // this is the action "profile"
//      public function Profile()
//           {
//            // remember that this is the controller/manager
//            // and the manager doesn't do any heavy work!
//            // so the manager usually asks the workers to
//            // do the actual heavy work!

//            // so you should never have to do any heavy programming
//            // in any of your controllers!

//            // the controller should always asks the model to return
//            // true or false whether the task is successfully
//            // or not! that's all!

//            // an example of that is the creation of class Base instance
//            // above! as you can see, the controller/manager does
//            // absolutely nothing in the form of heavy work!

//            // send it to the view to display the profile!
//            $this->base-render('profile');
//           }

// this is the controlller

// if you want to differentiate your controller classes from
// other classes, you can append the word 'Controller' to the class
// name: 'UserController'

// see createController() example above for more detail!

// class SomeOtherController
//     {
//      public $base = array();

//      $this->base = new Base();

//      // this is the action "someaction"
//      public function SomeAction()
//           {
//            // remember that this is the controller/manager
//            // and the manager doesn't do any heavy work!
//            // so the manager usually asks the workers to
//            // do the actual heavy work!

//            // so you should never have to do any heavy programming
//            // in any of your controllers!

//            // the controller should always asks the model to return
//            // true or false whether the task is successfully
//            // or not! that's all!

//            // an example of that is the creation of class Base instance
//            // above! as you can see, the controller/manager does
//            // absolutely nothing in the form of heavy work!

//            // send it to the view to display the someview!
//            $this->base-render('someview');
//           }
    } // end class dispatcher
?>

Notice that the manager does very little! All of the heavy work load is being done by the programmers.

Keep this analogy in mind as you work through the MVC pattern. There should not be any heavy work being done by the controllers. The controllers only need to know true or false. That's all! Nothing else!

For example, if you're programming a registration or login application, the model or models need to return only true or false if a user is successfully registered or logged in. Likewise, with other models, they need to return only true or false to the controller and nothing else.

For example, if a model is retrieving a bunch of products to be used in a catalog display in a view, the model can return true if the products are successfully retrieved from the database or false otherwise. For example:

<?php
/**
 * retrieve the products from the database
 */
class Product
    {
     // constructor
     public function __construct()
          {
           // constructor code logic);
          }

     // get the product
     public function getProduct()
          {
           // code logic
           // query the database: SELECT * FROM Product
           // return the product to the controller as an array!
          }
    }
?>

In getProduct(), you need to retrieve the products from the database and return the products accordingly so that in the controller, you can just test to see if it returns any product or null. True or false!

In the controller, all it needs to be done is instantiating the model: $product = new Product().

$model = $product->getProduct().

Now the controller or manager can handover the product to the view.

You can send it to the view via a render() method: $this->base->render('catalog', ['model' => $model]).

Remember that the second argument of render() is an array, and, therefore, you can send a model containing an array.

The trick is to test for the second argument for an array element: 'model' inside your render(). How you implement the second argument logic is up to you.

However, there is an easier way to send models to the view:

$this->base->set('model', $model).

Now the above line sets the property called 'model' to your base controller class similar to class Base() in this example.

Now using set() above, the controller or manager can handover the product to the view: render('catalog').

Notice that it is much simpler and there is no model attached to render().

Now inside the catalog view, you can retrieve that property like this: $catalog = $this->base->get('model').

Display the catalog. For example, inside the view 'catalog.php':

foreach ($catalog as $key => $value)

$key should be a product id and $value should be an array holding the product object: id, name, price, description, image, etc.

How you implement your view's render() is up to you. You can make improvement to the barebone render() code example shown earlier to make it more robust, like handling multiple themes and files.

Inside the barebone render() you can make it more robust and powerful by branching out to display snippets of views like sidebars flash display, ad flash display, and other content displays. See earlier code example for guidance.

Note that it is a good idea to specify the second argument of render() as an array: render($view, $template = array())

Please use the very popular shorthand array: render($view, $template = []).

This way, you can send all kinds of content to the view!

Note that you don't need more than two arguments in render() as the second argument handles all kinds of content to be sent to the view.

You can specify the second argument as an optional argument as well by doing this: render($view, $template[] = null).

By doing that you can send only the view that are simple views like about, contact, profile, etc.: render($view).

The Models: Classes

As stated above, there should not be any heavy work being done by the controllers. All of the heavy work load should be done by the models.

The models should be autoloaded using SPL autoload and are grouped in their own folders. Likewise, for the views and controllers, they should be grouped in their own folders and autoloading them accordingly. See my other tutorials called "how to autoload classes using SPL."

To learn more about MVC pattern, please check out the Internet by Googling the term MVC or Model View Controller.

There you have it: a very brief but useful introduction to MVC pattern. You should be able to use this MVC pattern tutorial and build your very own sophisticated applications--large or small. From here, the possibilities are endless!

Have fun programming and don't forget to thank me later!

PHP Visibility or access control: public, protected, and private

What is the difference between public, protected, and private ?

public, protected, and private are visibility clauses (similar to static and final). A visibility clause is a term used to describe the access control in certain part of the code. It's like a key to a toolbox where you are allowed to use certain tools for certain projects only if you have the key to open it. It is restricted to use certain tools. So you can't just go grab the tools and use freely; you have to have certain keys to open the toolbox and use the tools.

In programming, we have visisibility clauses or visibility controls to allow you to restrict certain part of the code to be accessible to certain programs.

Visisibility clauses or visibility controls allow certain part of code to be protected from outside abuses. Visisibility clause or access control is about controlling visibility of the methods and variables from outside classes usage. The visibility of the code elements are determined by their access control specifications or clauses: public, protected, and private.

Note: the term visisibility clause or access control mean the same thing and both are being used interchangibly.

A class is like an island onto itself where only people on the island can get access to the resources residing on that island. Because of this inaccessibility that a method of distinguishing who is allowed to get on and who is not allowed to get on -- and what level of restrictions certain methods and variables are placed on -- was developed.

The three-level of restrictions was developed to allow access control of the methods and variables.

Note: Visibility access control only concern with methods and variables and nothing else. Variables sometimes referred to as property variables or just plainly properties. So keep this in mind as you go through the descriptons:

• Class methods and variables declared as public can be accessed everywhere.


• Class methods and variables declared as protected can be accessed only within the class itself and by classes derived from that class.


• Class methods and variables declared as private may only be accessed by the class that defines the methods and variables. In other words, ONLY the class that defines the private methods and variables can access these private methods and variables [that they defined themselves].

  All other classes cannot access these private methods and variables [of another class or classes]. They can ONLY access their own private methods and variables.



• Class methods and variables declared without any explicit visibility keyword are defined as public.

Before we get into the main visibility access control: public, protected, and private, let's get this one nagging issue out of the way that seems to get a lot of people confused, and that is, the use of keyword var. For example:

<?php
class MyClass
    {
     /** declaring MyClass' properties: **/

     /**
      * as you can see below, we declare a property called $make as 'public'
      * using the keyword 'var'.
      * this is the same as declaring: public $make
      */

     var $make; // declaring a property as 'public'

     // for non-public properties, you use the appropriate clause, i.e., protected.
     protected $model;

     // for non-public properties, you use the appropriate clause, i.e., private.
     private $color;
    }
?>

The keyword var was the original design to signify the property as a public variable. So instead of having to specifically declaring a property using the keyword public, all we had to do was using the keyword var followed by the variable name and we had a public property variable. That was in the old days!

Then the folks at PHP decided to get rid of the old legacy mistake and instituted the proper way of doing things by replacing the keyword var with the keyword public starting in PHP 5.0. Then an uproar erupted and created a lot of confusion. It lasted for a couple of versions until it was too much of a headache to bear and they decided to put back the old legacy style by re-instituting the keyword var to its original style starting in PHP 5.3.

Since version 5.3 and onward, you can actually use either of the two keywords and they will all work just fine. However, they really stress/encourage all programmers to use keyword public and discourage the use of keyword var.

Visibility Access Control: Public, Protected, and Private

Let's see how to use the visibility access control: public, protected, and private. For example:

<?php
/**
 * declaring class Vehicle's properties only -- no methods
 */
class Vehicle
    {
     // declaring class Vehicle's properties:
     public $make; // declaring a property as 'public'
     protected $model; // declaring a property as 'protected'
     private $color; // declaring a property as 'private'
    }
?>

Now to see the effect of the visibility clauses in action, consider this:

<?php
/**
 * now we're creating another class outside of class Vehicle.
 * this class will try to get through class Vehicle's visibility control.
 * let's see if this class can get through class Vehicle's visibility control.
 */
class Ford
    {
     // creating an instance of class Vehicle:
     $obj = new Vehicle();

     // now try to get through class Vehicle's visibility control.

     /**
      * this reference is fine because the property is declared as
      * 'public'. so class Vehicle allows class Ford to use its property.
      */
     $obj->make = 'Ford';

     /**
      * this reference will cause a 'fatal error' because the property is declared as
      * 'protected'. so class Vehicle didn't allow class Ford to use its property.
      */
     $obj->model = 'F150';

     /**
      * this reference will cause a 'fatal error' because the property is declared as
      * 'private'. so class Vehicle didn't allow class Ford to use its property.
      */
     $obj->color = 'grey';
    }
?>

As you can see, declaring methods and properties as protected and private restricts outside classes like Ford from using its properties.

<?php
/**
 * now we're adding methods to class Vehicle.
 */
class Vehicle
    {
     // declaring class Vehicle's properties:
     public $make; // declaring a property as 'public'
     protected $model; // declaring a property as 'protected'
     private $color; // declaring a property as 'private'

     /**
      * declaring class Vehicle's method as 'public'
      * notice that declaring a method without the visibility clause has
      * the same effect as 'public'. so the 'public' clause can be omitted!
      */
     public function setMake($make)
          {
           // assigning a value to class Vehicle's property
           $this->make = $make;
          }

     // declaring class Vehicle's method as 'protected'
     protected function setModel($model)
             {
              // assigning a value to class Vehicle's property
              $this->model = $model;
             }

     // again, declaring class Vehicle's method as 'private'
     private function setColor($color)
           {
            // assigning a value to class Vehicle's property
            $this->color = $color;
           }
    }
?>