PHP programmer. Being an expert programmer does not mean being fully versed in the syntax and features of a language (although that helps); instead, it means that you can effectively use the language to solve problems. When you have finished reading this book, you should have a solid understanding of PHP's strengths and weaknesses, as well as the best ways to use it to tackle problems both inside and outside the Web domain Over the past three years PHP has evolved from being a niche language used to add dynamic functionality to small sites to a powerful tool making strong inroads into large-scale, business-critical Web systems. The rapid maturation of PHP has created a skeptical population of users from more traditional "enterprise" languages who question the readiness and ability of PHP to scale, as well as a large population of PHP developers without formal computer science backgrounds who have learned through the hands-on experimentation while developing small and midsize applications in PHP.
