This book on the Twitter API is geared to the programmer who is just a bit past beginner—who knows the basics of LAMP, including how to set up a basic server, PHP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. You do not have to be an expert programmer to use this book, but you should know how to look things up. In writing this book, we have tried to provide you with everything you need to get a simple Twitter client up and running. We include an hour on setting up your environment, as well as providing you with HTML and CSS codes to have something up and running. However, it’s beyond the scope of this book to explain what is happening with these codes. Instead, we focus on the code surrounding the API calls, OAuth, and the returns. That does not mean that you could not use this book if you are a beginner programmer. Because we provide you with all the code and build an application up step by step, you can stop at any time and look up parts of the code you do not understand. However, if you have never coded anything before, you may find that this book moves far too fast. It may be better to get an introductory book on basic programming in PHP before reading this book.

In writing this book, we also kept in mind experienced programmers who have been asked to create a Twitter application or include Twitter support in a current application, even if they do not know much about Twitter. We believe it’s important to understand what Twitter is, how it’s being used, and what makes it different from other social media services. It’s with this understanding that you will be able to approach your Twitter project with a more engaged understanding of what your application is trying to accomplish, which is the best way to not only satisfy product requirements, but also design future growth.