What is PHP?
PHP is a widely used open-source server-side scripting language designed for developing dynamic web pages and applications. Initially created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994, PHP has evolved significantly, with contributions from a vast community of developers.
One of the main reasons PHP is popular for web development is its simplicity and ease of use. It’s a flexible language that works seamlessly across various operating systems and web servers. PHP can be embedded directly into HTML to create dynamic content, manage forms and cookies, and interact with databases. Additionally, PHP offers an extensive library of built-in functions and frameworks that streamline the development process.
PHP is versatile and can be utilized to build a wide range of web applications, including e-commerce sites, content management systems, and social networks. Notably, many major websites and platforms, such as Facebook, WordPress, and Wikipedia, are built using PHP.
PHP Features
PHP, or Hypertext Preprocessor, is a popular server-side scripting language widely used for web development. It offers numerous features that make it a versatile and powerful tool for building dynamic web applications. Here are some key features of PHP:
Open Source and Free
PHP is open-source, meaning its source code is freely available for use, modification, and distribution. This allows developers to contribute to its development and create custom solutions without any licensing fees.
Easy to Learn and Use
PHP has a simple and intuitive syntax that is easy to learn for beginners, especially those with a background in programming languages like C, C++, or Java. The language’s straightforward approach makes it accessible for creating dynamic web pages.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
PHP is compatible with various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and Unix. It can run on different web servers like Apache, Nginx, IIS, and more, providing flexibility in deployment environments.
Embedded in HTML
PHP can be embedded directly into HTML code, making it easy to integrate server-side logic within web pages. This feature allows developers to create dynamic content that interacts seamlessly with static HTML.
Wide Database Support
PHP supports a wide range of databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQLite, Microsoft SQL Server, and more. It offers built-in functions for database connectivity and manipulation, making it easy to work with different databases.
Extensive Standard Library
PHP comes with an extensive standard library that provides built-in functions for various tasks, such as string manipulation, array handling, file operations, session management, and more. This reduces the need for writing code from scratch and speeds up development.
Security Features
HP offers various built-in security features to protect against common web vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF). It also supports secure coding practices and functions to safeguard data.
Support for Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
PHP supports both procedural and object-oriented programming (OOP) paradigms. This allows developers to build scalable and maintainable applications using OOP principles like classes, objects, inheritance, polymorphism, and encapsulation.
Flexible and Scalable
PHP is highly flexible and can be used to develop a wide range of web applications, from simple websites to complex enterprise-level applications. Its modular architecture allows for easy integration of additional libraries and frameworks to extend functionality.
Built-In Error Handling
PHP provides built-in error handling and logging capabilities, allowing developers to manage errors and exceptions gracefully. This helps in debugging and improving the reliability of web applications.
Session and Cookie Management
PHP offers robust session and cookie management features, enabling developers to maintain user sessions, track user activities, and store user preferences securely.
What are the Pre-requisites to learn PHP ?
To effectively learn PHP and leverage its capabilities for web development, there are a few prerequisites that can help you get started smoothly. While PHP is known for its ease of use and beginner-friendly syntax, having a foundational understanding of some key concepts and tools will make the learning process easier and more efficient. Here are the prerequisites to learn PHP:
Basic Understanding of HTML/CSS
HTML (HyperText Markup Language): Knowledge of HTML is essential since PHP is often embedded in HTML code to generate dynamic web pages. Understanding HTML tags, attributes, and document structure will help you integrate PHP scripts with static web content.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): While CSS is not directly related to PHP, knowing how to style web pages is helpful for creating visually appealing dynamic web applications.
Basic Knowledge of Programming Concepts
Familiarity with basic programming concepts such as variables, data types, operators, loops, conditionals, and functions is beneficial. PHP is a programming language, and understanding these concepts will help you grasp PHP syntax and logic more easily.
Understanding of Web Fundamentals
HTTP Protocol: A basic understanding of how the web works, including the HTTP protocol, client-server model, and how browsers communicate with web servers, is crucial. This knowledge will help you understand how PHP interacts with web clients and servers.
URL Structure: Knowing how URLs are structured and how web browsers request resources from servers is important when working with PHP to handle requests and generate responses.
Familiarity with a Text Editor or IDE
To write PHP code, you’ll need a text editor or Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that supports PHP syntax highlighting and other helpful features. Popular choices include Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, PHPStorm, and Atom. Familiarity with using these tools will make writing and managing PHP code easier.
Basic Knowledge of Databases and SQL
PHP is often used in conjunction with databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite to create dynamic web applications. Understanding the basics of databases, SQL (Structured Query Language), and how to perform basic CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations will be useful when working with PHP for database-driven web applications.
Understanding of Server-Side vs. Client-Side Scripting
Knowing the difference between server-side scripting (PHP) and client-side scripting (JavaScript) is important. PHP runs on the server and is used to handle backend tasks, while client-side scripts run in the user’s browser. Understanding these differences will help you make better decisions when building web applications.
Basic Knowledge of Command Line Interface (CLI)
Familiarity with using the command line or terminal can be helpful for setting up PHP, managing web servers, installing software, running PHP scripts outside a web environment, and using version control systems like Git.
Understanding of File Systems and Directories
A basic understanding of file systems and how directories work is useful since PHP often deals with file handling, including reading, writing, and uploading files on a server.
What is a PHP File ?
PHP files have a file extension of “.php”, “.php3”, or “.phtml”
PHP file can have images,text,HTML tags
Why use PHP for developing website?
PHP is widely used for developing websites because it is easy to learn, flexible, and integrates seamlessly with HTML to create dynamic web content.
It supports various databases, is compatible with multiple operating systems and servers, and has a large community offering extensive resources and frameworks.
PHP’s open-source nature and strong performance make it a cost-effective choice for building scalable web applications.
PHP Download , where to Start?
To start with PHP
- Intstall Web Server (Apache).
- Intstall PHP
- Install Mysql
- Download PHP
- Download MySQL
- Download Apache
- Download a nice text editor [Not required]
- http://www.editplus.com/download.html
- Most people would prefer to install a all-in-one solution:
- WampServer for Windows platform or Linux Includes :
- – Apache
- – MySQL
- – PHP