Your First 10 Prompts

Before You Start

1. Open a terminal
2. Create a test folder: mkdir ai-practice && cd ai-practice
3. Start Claude Code: claude
4. Type each prompt below, press Enter, and observe the result

Prompts 1-2: Ask Questions

Start with the simplest possible prompts - asking the AI questions.

> What is the difference between POST and GET in a PHP form?
  When should I use each one?

What to notice: The AI gives a clear, contextual explanation. Compare this to a Google search - you get a direct answer in seconds, tailored to PHP, without reading 5 different articles.

> I'm new to PHP. Can you explain what a PDO prepared statement is
  and show me a simple example of using one to insert a user into a
  MySQL database?

What to notice: The AI adjusts its explanation to your stated experience level ("I'm new to PHP"). You get a working code example alongside the explanation.

Prompts 3-4: Generate Code

Now create actual code files.

> Create a PHP file called calculator.php that:
  - Has a form with two number inputs and a dropdown to select add/subtract/multiply/divide
  - When submitted, calculates the result and displays it below the form
  - Handles division by zero with an error message
  - Uses Bootstrap 5 for styling

What to notice: The AI creates the entire file. Accept the permission to write the file. Open it in your browser and test it. This would take a beginner 45-60 minutes to write from scratch.

> Write a PHP function called formatIndianPhone($number) that:
  - Takes a phone number string (may have spaces, dashes, +91 prefix)
  - Returns it in the format: +91 XXXXX XXXXX
  - Returns false if the number is invalid
  Include 5 test cases showing input/output

What to notice: The AI writes the function AND writes test cases. Always ask for test cases when generating functions - they help you verify the output immediately.

Prompts 5-6: Explain Code

Use AI to understand code you did not write (or code you wrote but have forgotten).

> Explain what this PHP code does, line by line, in simple terms:

$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = ? AND active = 1");
$stmt->execute([$email]);
$user = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
if ($user && password_verify($password, $user['password_hash'])) {
    $_SESSION['user_id'] = $user['id'];
    header("Location: /dashboard");
    exit;
}

What to notice: The AI explains every line. This skill is invaluable when working with inherited codebases - just paste any confusing code and ask for an explanation.

> In the calculator.php file you just created, what does the
  htmlspecialchars() function do and why is it important?

What to notice: The AI refers back to code it created in this session and explains a security concept in context. This is better than a generic explanation because it relates to your specific code.

Prompts 7-8: Fix Code

The most common daily task - fixing something broken.

> I have this PHP code and it throws this error. Fix it.

Code:
$items = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry'];
echo "The second item is: " . $items[3];

Error:
Warning: Undefined offset: 3 in calculator.php on line 2

What to notice: Always include the exact error message. The AI immediately understands the problem (array index 3 does not exist in a 3-item array, which uses indices 0, 1, 2) and fixes it.

> In my calculator.php, when I divide 10 by 3, the result shows
  as "3.3333333333333". I want it to show only 2 decimal places.
  Fix it.

What to notice: Not all bugs produce error messages. Describe the wrong behavior in plain English. The AI knows to use round() or number_format() to fix this.

Prompts 9-10: Build a Feature

Now build something real - a complete small feature from scratch.

> Build a complete PHP contact form page called contact.php with:
  - Name, email, phone, message fields
  - Validation: all fields required, email must be valid format
  - On submission: save to a MySQL table called contacts (id, name, email, phone, message, created_at)
  - Use PDO with a connection from config/db.php
  - Show success message after saving
  - Bootstrap 5 styling with a clean card layout
  - Redirect back if called directly without POST

What to notice: This single prompt builds a complete, production-usable contact form. The level of detail in the prompt directly determines the quality of the output.

> Update the contact.php we just created:
  1. Add a honeypot spam field (hidden, should be empty on submit)
  2. Rate limit: block if the same IP submits more than 3 times in 10 minutes
     (track in a contacts_rate_limit table)
  3. Send an email notification to admin@mysite.com on each submission
     using PHP mail()

What to notice: Follow-up prompts that reference previous work ("the contact.php we just created") give the AI context to extend existing code rather than start over. This is how real development works with AI - build, then extend.

What Next

You have just used AI to:

• Answer programming questions in seconds
• Generate a complete working calculator from one prompt
• Explain unfamiliar code line by line
• Fix bugs with and without error messages
• Build a complete contact form with security features

The next lesson teaches you how to read and verify AI output so you know when to trust it and when to question it.