Chapter 15. EXTENDING SQLITE

SQLite comes packaged with PHP 5. It has advanced capabilities and a built-in object-oriented (OO) interface. Examining the classes and methods of SQLite is the ostensible reason for including this chapter—but that's not the only reason. SQLite is a great addition to PHP, but because MySQL is so entrenched, programmers tend to ignore SQLite.

Don't let the "Lite" in SQLite lead you to underestimate the capabilities of this database. Because it is bundled with PHP, there is no external server to worry about—think of it as "Lite" in the sense of "no extra baggage." In some situations it is the ideal database to use. Its advanced features can help simplify your code and create an application that outperforms other solutions.

In this chapter, we will develop a link management application using a class derived from the SQLite database class. A minimum of PHP version 5.0.5 is a requirement. (Prior to this version the SQLite database class is declared as final, so it cannot be extended.)