How to Build a PHP Calendar

PHP can be used in conjunction with MySQL and HTML to build calendars.

PHP is a server-side scripting language. It enables programmers to manipulate data on the server and produce sophisticated output. PHP is often used in connection with MySQL databases to store and manipulate data. There are several methods for creating PHP calendars. Programming companies have developed Open Source PHP calendars that can be downloaded and customized. Alternatively, a calendar can be built from scratch. Calendars built with PHP require an HTML or XML interface.

Things You'll Need

• PHP 5.0 or higher with PDO extension
• MySQL 4.1.2 or higher with MySQLi extension
• FTP Client

Instructions

Build and Install PHP-Calendar

1. Download the PHP-Calendar .tar file.

2. Extract the files. In Windows, right-click and select "Extract Files Here." In Linux, open a terminal by clicking "Applications," "Accessories" and "Terminal." In the command prompt, type: "tar -zxf php-calendar-x.y.tar.gz" and press "Enter."

3. Create a directory for the calendar. Connect to the server with an FTP Client. Create a folder with any name.

4. Upload files to the server. Access the calendar folder with the FTP client. Select all of the files in the local calendar folder and upload them to the folder designated for the calendar.

5. Install PHP-Calendar. Open a browser. In the address bar, type the website, then the calendar folder, then "/install.php" and press "Enter." Follow the instructions on the screen.

Build and Install Easy PHP Calendar

1. Download Easy PHP Calendar. Select the ionCube PHP 5.0 zip file.

2. Extract the files. Right-click the filename and click "Extract Here."

3. Create a directory for the calendar. Connect to the server with an FTP Client. Create a folder named "calendar."

4. Upload files to the server. Access the calendar folder with the FTP client. Select all of the files in the local calendar folder and upload them to the "calendar" folder.

5. Set file permissions. Find these files: config.inc.php, license.php, calendar.php. Right-click each and select "Permissions." Set the permission code to "646."

6. Install Easy PHP Calendar. Open a browser. Type your website address, "/calendar/setup/index.php" and then follow the instructions on the screen.

Build a Calendar from Scratch

1. Create a blank PHP file. Open a text or code editor. Click "File" and "Save As." Name the file "calendar.php"

2. Type the following code: "<?php print date() ?>

3. Save the file.

4. Access the file in a web browser. The date will be displayed.

5. Experiment with HTML formatting and the information in the PHP Documentation Date Function page.

Tips & Warnings

• When building a PHP calendar from scratch, it is helpful to view the source code of the two PHP Calendars presented here. They are both open source products, so the code can be read for instructional purposes.

References

• PHP-Calendar Install Document
• Easy PHP Calendar Installation Guide
• PHP Documentation

Resources

• PHP-Calendar
• Easy PHP Calendar
• PHP Documentation Date Function