Preface

Creating PHP applications that respond quickly, avoid unnecessary page reloads, and provide great user interfaces, often requires complex JavaScript techniques. Even then, if you get that far, the results might not work across different browsers! With jQuery, you can use one of the most popular JavaScript libraries, forget about cross-browser issues, and simplify the creation of very powerful and responsive interfaces—all with the minimum of code.

This is the first book in the market that will ease the server-side PHP coder into the client-side world of the popular jQuery JavaScript library.

This book will show you how to use jQuery to enhance your PHP applications, with many examples using jQuery's user interface library jQuery UI, and other examples using popular jQuery plugins. It will help you to add exciting user interface features to liven up your PHP applications without having to become a master of client-side JavaScript.

This book will teach you how to use jQuery to create some really stunning effects, but without you needing to have in-depth knowledge of how jQuery works. It provides you with everything you need to build practical user interfaces, for everything from graphics manipulation and drag-and-drop to data searching, and much more. The book also provides practical demonstrations of PHP and jQuery and explains these examples, rather than starting from how JavaScript works and how it is different from PHP.

By the end of this book, you should be able to take any PHP application you have written, and transform it into a responsive, user-friendly interface, with capabilities you would not have dreamed of being able to achieve, all in just a few lines of JavaScript.