What is php explain in detail?



PHP started out as a small open source project that evolved as more and more people found out how useful it was. Rasmus Lerdorf unleashed the first version of PHP way back in 1994.

  • PHP is a recursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor".

  • PHP is a server side scripting language that is embedded in HTML. It is used to manage dynamic content, databases, session tracking, even build entire e-commerce sites.

  • It is integrated with a number of popular databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and Microsoft SQL Server.

  • PHP is pleasingly zippy in its execution, especially when compiled as an Apache module on the Unix side. The MySQL server, once started, executes even very complex queries with huge result sets in record-setting time.

  • PHP supports a large number of major protocols such as POP3, IMAP, and LDAP. PHP4 added support for Java and distributed object architectures (COM and CORBA), making n-tier development a possibility for the first time.

  • PHP is forgiving: PHP language tries to be as forgiving as possible.

  • PHP Syntax is C-Like.

Common uses of PHP

  • PHP performs system functions, i.e. from files on a system it can create, open, read, write, and close them.

  • PHP can handle forms, i.e. gather data from files, save data to a file, through email you can send data, return data to the user.

  • You add, delete, modify elements within your database through PHP.

  • Access cookies variables and set cookies.

  • Using PHP, you can restrict users to access some pages of your website.

  • It can encrypt data.

Characteristics of PHP

Five important characteristics make PHP's practical nature possible −

  • Simplicity
  • Efficiency
  • Security
  • Flexibility
  • Familiarity

"Hello World" Script in PHP

To get a feel for PHP, first start with simple PHP scripts. Since "Hello, World!" is an essential example, first we will create a friendly little "Hello, World!" script.

As mentioned earlier, PHP is embedded in HTML. That means that in amongst your normal HTML (or XHTML if you're cutting-edge) you'll have PHP statements like this −


   
   
      Hello World
   
   
   
      
   


It will produce following result −

Hello, World!

If you examine the HTML output of the above example, you'll notice that the PHP code is not present in the file sent from the server to your Web browser. All of the PHP present in the Web page is processed and stripped from the page; the only thing returned to the client from the Web server is pure HTML output.

All PHP code must be included inside one of the three special markup tags ATE are recognised by the PHP Parser.





A most common tag is the and we will also use the same tag in our tutorial.

From the next chapter we will start with PHP Environment Setup on your machine and then we will dig out almost all concepts related to PHP to make you comfortable with the PHP language.


PHP code is executed on the server.


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 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 large social networks!
It is also easy enough to be a beginner's first server side language!


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"

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.



Why PHP?

  • 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

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: <=>)


What is PHP explain?

What is 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.

What is PHP and example?

PHP is a server-side scripting language created in 1995 by Rasmus Lerdorf. PHP is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML.

What is PHP and explain features of PHP?

PHP is a server side scripting language that is embedded in HTML. It is used to manage dynamic content, databases, session tracking, even build entire e-commerce sites. It is integrated with a number of popular databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and Microsoft SQL Server.

What is PHP explain its uses and advantages?

It is platform-independent. PHP-based applications can run on any OS like UNIX, Linux, Windows, etc. Applications can easily be loaded which are based on PHP and connected to the database. It's mainly used due to its faster rate of loading over slow internet speed than other programming language.