Book Review Web App – Step-by-Step Instructions (HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL via Uniform Server)

Tools:
- HTML, CSS, PHP
- MySQL (via Uniform Server)

Pages:
- register.php – Register new users
- login.php – Login page
- books.php – View books and reviews
- review.php – Add a review (logged-in users)
- logout.php – Log out
- db.php – Database connection
- style.css – CSS
- index.html – Home page

Step 1: Install Uniform Server
1. Download from https://www.uniformserver.com
2. Extract and run UniController.exe
3. Start Apache and MySQL

Step 2: Create Database and Tables
Open MySQL Console and run:

CREATE DATABASE book_reviews;
USE book_reviews;

CREATE TABLE users (
  id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
  username VARCHAR(50) UNIQUE,
  password VARCHAR(255)
);

CREATE TABLE books (
  id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
  title VARCHAR(100),
  author VARCHAR(100)
);

CREATE TABLE reviews (
  id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
  user_id INT,
  book_id INT,
  review TEXT,
  FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES users(id),
  FOREIGN KEY (book_id) REFERENCES books(id)
);

Insert Sample Books:

INSERT INTO books (title, author) VALUES
('1984', 'George Orwell'),
('Pride and Prejudice', 'Jane Austen'),
('The Hobbit', 'J.R.R. Tolkien'),
('To Kill a Mockingbird', 'Harper Lee'),
('The Catcher in the Rye', 'J.D. Salinger');

Step 3: Folder Setup
1. Go to C:\UniServerZ\www
2. Create folder: bookapp

Step 4: db.php

<?php
$conn = new mysqli("localhost", "root", "", "book_reviews");
if ($conn->connect_error) {
    die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}
?>

Step 5: register.php

<?php include("db.php"); ?>
<form method="POST">
  Username: <input type="text" name="username"><br>
  Password: <input type="password" name="password"><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Register">
</form>

<?php
if ($_POST) {
  $u = $_POST['username'];
  $p = $_POST['password'];
  $sql = "INSERT INTO users (username, password) VALUES ('$u', '$p')";
  if ($conn->query($sql)) {
    echo "Registered successfully.";
  } else {
    echo "Error: " . $conn->error;
  }
}
?>

Step 6: login.php

<?php include("db.php"); session_start(); ?>
<form method="POST">
  Username: <input type="text" name="username"><br>
  Password: <input type="password" name="password"><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Login">
</form>

<?php
if ($_POST) {
  $u = $_POST['username'];
  $p = $_POST['password'];
  $res = $conn->query("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username='$u' AND password='$p'");
  if ($res->num_rows > 0) {
    $_SESSION['user'] = $u;
    header("Location: books.php");
  } else {
    echo "Login failed.";
  }
}
?>

Step 7: books.php

<?php include("db.php"); session_start(); ?>
<h2>Welcome <?php echo $_SESSION['user']; ?></h2>
<h3>Book List and Reviews</h3>

<?php
$res = $conn->query("SELECT * FROM books");
while ($b = $res->fetch_assoc()) {
  echo "<h4>{$b['title']} by {$b['author']}</h4>";

  $bid = $b['id'];
  $rev = $conn->query("SELECT u.username, r.review FROM reviews r JOIN users u ON r.user_id = u.id WHERE book_id = $bid");
  while ($r = $rev->fetch_assoc()) {
    echo "<p><b>{$r['username']}:</b> {$r['review']}</p>";
  }
}
?>

<a href='review.php'>Add a Review</a> |
<a href='logout.php'>Logout</a>

Step 8: review.php

<?php include("db.php"); session_start(); ?>
<form method="POST">
  Book ID: <input type="number" name="book_id"><br>
  Review: <textarea name="review"></textarea><br>
  <input type="submit" value="Submit Review">
</form>

<?php
if ($_POST) {
  $user = $_SESSION['user'];
  $book = $_POST['book_id'];
  $review = $_POST['review'];
  $uid_res = $conn->query("SELECT id FROM users WHERE username='$user'");
  $uid = $uid_res->fetch_assoc()['id'];

  $conn->query("INSERT INTO reviews (user_id, book_id, review) VALUES ($uid, $book, '$review')");
  echo "Review submitted.";
}
?>

Step 9: logout.php

<?php
session_start();
session_destroy();
header("Location: login.php");
?>

Step 10: style.css

body {
  font-family: Arial;
  background: #f0f0f0;
  padding: 20px;
}

form {
  background: white;
  padding: 10px;
  margin: 10px 0;
  border-radius: 4px;
}

Step 11: index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Book Review App</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Welcome to Book Review App</h1>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="register.php">Register</a></li>
    <li><a href="login.php">Login</a></li>
  </ul>
</body>
</html>

Step 12: Test the Application

1. Go to http://localhost/bookapp/register.php
2. Create a user
3. Login via login.php
4. View books on books.php
5. Submit review on review.php
6. Logout via logout.php

Step 13: Backup and Export

1. Open Command Prompt or MySQL Console
2. Export database:

mysqldump -u root book_reviews > book_reviews.sql

3. Zip the bookapp folder and book_reviews.sql