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Chapter 1


PHP code is executed on the server.


What is PHP ?

PHP is an open-source, interpreted, and object-oriented scripting language that can be executed at the server-side. PHP is well suited for web development. Therefore, it is used to develop web applications (an application that executes on the server and generates the dynamic page.).

PHP was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 but appeared in the market in 1995. PHP 7.4.0 is the latest version of PHP, which was released on 28 November. Some important points need to be noticed about PHP are as followed:

  • PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor.
  • PHP is an interpreted language, i.e., there is no need for compilation.
  • PHP is faster than other scripting languages, for example, ASP and JSP.
  • PHP is a server-side scripting language, which is used to manage the dynamic content of the website.
  • PHP can be embedded into HTML.
  • PHP is an object-oriented language.
  • PHP is an open-source scripting language.
  • PHP is simple and easy to learn language.

What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.

What is a PHP File?

  • PHP files can contain text, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP code
  • PHP code is executed on the server, and the result is returned to the browser as plain HTML
  • PHP files have extension ".php"
  • PHP is an acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor"
  • PHP is a widely-used, open source scripting language
  • PHP scripts are executed on the server
  • PHP is free to download and use

PHP is an amazing and popular language!

It is powerful enough to be at the core of the biggest blogging system on the web (WordPress)!
It is deep enough to run the largest social network (Facebook)!
It is also easy enough to be a beginner's first server side language!

What's new in PHP 7

  • PHP 7 is much faster than the previous popular stable release (PHP 5.6)
  • PHP 7 has improved Error Handling
  • PHP 7 supports stricter Type Declarations for function arguments
  • PHP 7 supports new operators (like the spaceship operator: <=>)

Why use PHP ?

  • PHP is a server-side scripting language, which is used to design the dynamic web applications with MySQL database.
  • It handles dynamic content, database as well as session tracking for the website.
  • You can create sessions in PHP.
  • It can access cookies variable and also set cookies.
  • It helps to encrypt the data and apply validation.
  • PHP supports several protocols such as HTTP, POP3, SNMP, LDAP, IMAP, and many more.
  • Using PHP language, you can control the user to access some pages of your website.
  • As PHP is easy to install and set up, this is the main reason why PHP is the best language to learn.
  • PHP can handle the forms, such as - collect the data from users using forms, save it into the database, and return useful information to the user. For example - Registration form.
  • PHP runs on various platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.)
  • PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
  • PHP supports a wide range of databases
  • PHP is free. Download it from the official PHP resource: www.php.net
  • PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side

PHP Features :

PHP is very popular language because of its simplicity and open source. There are some important features of PHP given below:

  • What Can PHP Do?
  • PHP can generate dynamic page content
  • PHP can create, open, read, write, delete, and close files on the server
  • PHP can collect form data
  • PHP can send and receive cookies
  • PHP can add, delete, modify data in your database
  • PHP can be used to control user-access
  • PHP can encrypt data
  • With PHP you are not limited to output HTML. You can output images, PDF files, and even Flash movies. You can also output any text, such as XHTML and XML.

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Performance:

PHP script is executed much faster than those scripts which are written in other languages such as JSP and ASP. PHP uses its own memory, so the server workload and loading time is automatically reduced, which results in faster processing speed and better performance.

Open Source:

PHP source code and software are freely available on the web. You can develop all the versions of PHP according to your requirement without paying any cost. All its components are free to download and use.

Familiarity with syntax:

PHP has easily understandable syntax. Programmers are comfortable coding with it.

Embedded:

PHP code can be easily embedded within HTML tags and script.

Platform Independent:

PHP is available for WINDOWS, MAC, LINUX & UNIX operating system. A PHP application developed in one OS can be easily executed in other OS also.

Database Support:

PHP supports all the leading databases such as MySQL, SQLite, ODBC, etc.

Web Development

PHP is widely used in web development nowadays. PHP can develop dynamic websites easily. But you must have the basic the knowledge of following technologies for web development as well.

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • Ajax
  • XML and JSON
  • jQuery

Prerequisite

Before learning PHP, you must have the basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. So, learn these technologies for better implementation of PHP.

HTML - HTML is used to design static webpage.

CSS - CSS helps to make the webpage content more effective and attractive.

JavaScript - JavaScript is used to design an interactive website.

Audience

Our PHP tutorial is designed to help beginners and professionals. This PHP tutorial will help those who are unaware about the concepts of PHP but have basic knowledge of computer programming.

Problem

We assure you that you will not find any problem in this PHP tutorial. But if there is any mistake or error, please post the error in the contact form.