PHP crash course: Simple Currency Converter

A PHP-based Currency Converter tool that allows users to convert currencies using real-time exchange rates fetched from an external API. The tool is built with PHP, HTML, jQuery, AJAX, JSON, Bootstrap, CSS, and MySQL. The application is designed to provide accurate currency conversion and display results in a user-friendly interface.

Topics: php, mysql, blog, ajax, bootstrap, jquery, css, currency conversion, external api integration, api integration

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Directory Structure

simple-currency-converter/
│
├── index.html
├── db/
│   └── database.sql
├── include/
│   ├── config.sample.php
│   └── db.php
├── assets/
│   ├── css/
│   │   └── style.css
│   └── js/
│   │   └── script.js
├── src/
│   ├── fetch-rates.php
│   ├── convert.php
│   └── get-currencies.php
├── README.md
└── .gitignore

2. Database Schema

db/database.sql:

CREATE TABLE `exchange_rates` (
   `id` int(11) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
   `currency` varchar(3) NOT NULL,
   `rate` decimal(10, 4) NOT NULL,
   `timestamp` timestamp NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
   PRIMARY KEY (`id`)
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;


CREATE TABLE currencies (
   id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
   code VARCHAR(3) NOT NULL,
   name VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL
);

INSERT INTO currencies (code, name) VALUES
('USD', 'United States Dollar'),
('EUR', 'Euro'),
('GBP', 'British Pound'),
('JPY', 'Japanese Yen'),
('BDT', 'Bangladesh Taka'),
('AUD', 'Australian Dollar');

3. Configuration File

Configuration settings (include/config.sample.php)

<?php // Database configuration
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); // Database host
define('DB_NAME', 'currency_converter'); // Database name
define('DB_USER', 'root'); // Change if necessary
define('DB_PASS', ''); // Change if necessary

// API configuration
define('API_URL', 'https://api.exchangerate-api.com/v4/latest/');
define('API_KEY', 'your_api_key_here');
?>

4. Configure the Database Connection

Establishing database connection (include/db.php)

<?php include 'db.php';

// Database configuration
$dsn = 'mysql:host='.DB_HOST.';dbname='.DB_NAME;
$options = [
    PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION,
    PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE => PDO::FETCH_ASSOC,
    PDO::ATTR_EMULATE_PREPARES   => false,
];

// Create a new PDO instance
try {
    $pdo = new PDO($dsn, DB_USER, DB_PASS, $options);
    $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION); // Set error mode to exception
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo 'Connection failed: ' . $e->getMessage(); // Display error message if connection fails
}
?>

5. HTML and PHP Structure

HTML Structure (index.html)

   <meta charset="UTF-8">
   <title>Currency Converter</title>
   <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.4.1/css/bootstrap.min.css">
   <link rel="stylesheet" href="assets/css/styles.css">


<div class="container">
   <h2 id="Currency-Converter">Currency Converter</h2>
   <form id="currency-form">
      <div class="form-group">
         <label for="amount">Amount:</label>
         <input type="number" class="form-control" id="amount" placeholder="Enter amount" required>
      </div>
      <div class="form-group">
         <label for="from_currency">From:</label>
         <select class="form-control" id="from_currency">
            <!-- Options will be loaded dynamically -->
         </select>
      </div>
      <div class="form-group">
         <label for="to_currency">To:</label>
         <select class="form-control" id="to_currency">
            <!-- Options will be loaded dynamically -->
         </select>
      </div>
      <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Convert</button>
   </form>
   <div id="result" class="alert alert-success" style="display:none;"></div>
</div>

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.5.1/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.4.1/js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
<script src="assets/js/script.js"></script>

6. JavaScript and AJAX

AJAX Handling (assets/js/script.js)

$(document).ready(function() {
   // Fetch exchange rates and populate the select options
   $.ajax({
      url: 'src/fetch-rates.php',
      method: 'GET',
      dataType: 'json',
      success: function(data) {
         if (data.status === 'success') {
            populateCurrencyOptions();
         }
      }
   });

   function populateCurrencyOptions() {
      $.ajax({
         url: 'src/get-currencies.php',
         method: 'GET',
         dataType: 'json',
         success: function(data) {
            if (data.status === 'success') {
               var options = '';
               console.log(data.currencies)
               $.each(data.currencies, function(index, currency) {
                  options += '<option value="' + currency.code + '">' + currency.name + '</option>';
               });
               $('#from_currency, #to_currency').html(options);
            }
         }
      });
   }

   // Handle form submission
   $('#currency-form').on('submit', function(e) {
      e.preventDefault();
      var amount = $('#amount').val();
      var fromCurrency = $('#from_currency').val();
      var toCurrency = $('#to_currency').val();

      $.ajax({
         url: 'src/convert.php',
         method: 'POST',
         data: {
            amount: amount,
            from_currency: fromCurrency,
            to_currency: toCurrency
         },
         dataType: 'json',
         success: function(data) {
            if (data.status === 'success') {
               $('#result').html('Converted Amount: ' + data.converted_amount).show();
            } else {
               $('#result').html(data.message).show();
            }
         }
      });
   });
});

Explanation:

• Uses Bootstrap for styling and jQuery for AJAX requests.
• $('#currency-form').on('submit', ...): Handles form submission and sends an AJAX request to src/convert.php.
• $.ajax({...}): Sends data to the server and processes the response.

7. Backend PHP Scripts

Fetch Exchange Rates (src/fetch-rates.php)

<?php require '../include/db.php';

// Fetch exchange rates from the external API
$apiUrl = API_URL . "USD"; // Replace with your API endpoint

$response = file_get_contents($apiUrl);
$data = json_decode($response, true);

if ($data) {
    // Clear existing rates
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare("TRUNCATE TABLE exchange_rates");
    $stmt->execute();

    // Insert new rates
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO exchange_rates (currency, rate) VALUES (:currency, :rate)");
    foreach ($data['rates'] as $currency => $rate) {
        $stmt->execute(['currency' => $currency, 'rate' => $rate]);
    }

    echo json_encode(['status' => 'success', 'message' => 'Exchange rates updated successfully.']);
} else {
    echo json_encode(['status' => 'error', 'message' => 'Failed to fetch exchange rates.']);
}
?>

Explanation:

• file_get_contents($apiUrl): Fetches data from the API.
• json_decode($response, true): Decodes JSON data into an associative array.
• INSERT INTO currency_rates ... ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE: Inserts or updates currency rates in the database.

Currency Conversion Logic (src/convert.php)

<?php require '../include/db.php';

$amount = $_POST['amount'];
$fromCurrency = $_POST['from_currency'];
$toCurrency = $_POST['to_currency'];

// Fetch the exchange rate from the database
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT rate FROM exchange_rates WHERE currency = :currency");
$stmt->execute(['currency' => $fromCurrency]);
$fromRate = $stmt->fetchColumn();

$stmt->execute(['currency' => $toCurrency]);
$toRate = $stmt->fetchColumn();

if ($fromRate && $toRate) {
    // Convert the amount
    $convertedAmount = ($amount / $fromRate) * $toRate;
    echo json_encode(['status' => 'success', 'converted_amount' => number_format($convertedAmount, 2)]);
} else {
    echo json_encode(['status' => 'error', 'message' => 'Conversion failed.']);
}
?>

Explanation:

• $_POST['amount'], $_POST['from_currency'], $_POST['to_currency']: Gets parameters from AJAX request.
• SELECT exchange_rate FROM currency_rates WHERE currency = ?: Fetches exchange rates from the database.
• Converts the amount and returns JSON response.

Currency Name and code (src/get-currencies.php)

<?php require '../include/db.php';
$stmt = $pdo->query('SELECT code, name FROM currencies');
$data = [];
while ($row = $stmt->fetch()) {
    $data[] = ['code' => $row['code'], 'name' => $row['name']];
}
echo json_encode(['status' => 'success', 'currencies' => $data]);
?>

Explanation:

• SELECT code, name FROM currencies: Fetches currency name and code from the database.
• Returns JSON response.

6. CSS Styling

CSS Styling (assets/css/style.css)

body {
   padding-top: 50px;
}

.container {
   max-width: 600px;
   margin: 0 auto;
}

Documentation and Comments

• include/config.php: Contains database configuration and connects to MySQL using PDO and API configur.
• index.php: Main page with HTML structure, includes Bootstrap for styling.
• assets/js/script.js: Handles AJAX requests for loading and saving posts. Uses jQuery for DOM manipulation and AJAX.
  • Uses jQuery for making AJAX calls.
  • Displays results in the #result div.
• assets/css/style.css: Basic styling for the application.
  • Sets the background color and container width.
• src/fetch-rates.php: Fetches posts from the database and returns them as JSON.
  • Fetches exchange rates from the API.
  • stores the conversion result in the database.
  • Returns the result in JSON format.
• src/get-currencies.php: Handles post creation and updating based on the presence of an ID.
  • Returns the result in JSON format.
• src/convert.php: Processes conversion requests and interacts with the API.
  • Validates input data.
  • Fetches exchange rates from the API.
  • Calculates and stores the conversion result in the database.
  • Returns the result in JSON format.

This setup provides a basic yet functional currency converter tool with detailed comments and explanations. Make sure to adjust API URLs and database settings according to your needs. For real-world use, you may also want to add error handling and security measures.

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Source Code

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