PHP Basic
Introduction
to PHP
PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (
Previously it was the Personal Home Page). PHP was originally created by Rasmus
Lerdorf in 1995 as a simple Web page generation tool named as PHP/FI (Personal
Home Page/Forms Interpreter). Today it becomes the number one of server-side
scripting languages.
PHP definition at php.net : "PHP is an
HTML-embedded scripting language. Much of its syntax is borrowed from C, Java
and Perl with a couple of unique PHP-specific features thrown in. The goal of
the language is to allow web developers to write dynamically generated pages
quickly'.
Characteristics of PHP:
·
Server-Side
Scripting
o
PHP is
executed on the server, and the result is sent to the client's browser as HTML.
o
It
ensures that sensitive operations, like database interactions, occur on the
server.
·
Open-Source
o
PHP is
free to use, modify, and distribute.
o
Supported
by a large community that continually enhances its functionality.
·
Cross-Platform
o
Compatible
with major operating systems like Windows, Linux, macOS, and Unix.
o
Can run
on multiple web servers, including Apache, Nginx, IIS, and more.
·
Embedded
in HTML
o
PHP code
can be embedded directly into HTML, making it easy to create dynamic web pages.
·
Ease of
Learning
o
PHP
syntax is similar to C and Java, making it beginner-friendly for developers
familiar with these languages.
·
Dynamic
and Flexible
o
PHP
supports dynamic web page generation by interacting with databases like MySQL,
PostgreSQL, and others.
o
Allows
for runtime modifications and handling of various file types.
·
Supports
a Wide Range of Databases
o
Built-in
support for relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite).
o
Can also
interface with NoSQL databases like MongoDB.
·
Extensive
Libraries and Frameworks
o
Numerous
built-in libraries for tasks like image processing, file handling, and email
sending.
o
Popular
frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, and CodeIgniter enhance PHP's functionality.
·
Object-Oriented
Programming (OOP) Support
o
Introduced
OOP features such as classes, objects, inheritance, and interfaces.
o
Supports
procedural and object-oriented programming.
·
Platform-Independent
Deployment
o
PHP
scripts are portable and can be deployed on any platform without modifications.
·
Fast
Execution
o
Efficient
in processing and returning responses for web applications.
o
Can be
optimized with accelerators like OPCache.
·
Secure
o
Offers
tools and practices for secure coding, such as data encryption and prepared
statements to prevent SQL injection.
·
Community
and Documentation
o
Large
and active community of developers.
o
Comprehensive
documentation available online for free.
·
Extensibility
o
Can be
extended with plugins and extensions written in C.
o
Supports
integration with third-party APIs and services.