When discussing the creation of websites or online applications, the term PHP will immediately spring to mind. If you are a novice web developer or would like to learn more about this, I will attempt to assist you in understanding the fundamentals of PHP and its uses.
What is PHP?
Personal Home Pages, or PHP, is an acronym for Hypertext Pre-processor. An open-source, object-oriented server-side scripting language is PHP. Its purpose is to create static, dynamic, and web-based applications. You must install any PHP software on a local host or web host before running it. PHP scripts can only be edited on servers that have PHP installed. The PHP script can only be accessed with a web browser. PHP file contains PHP tags and ends with .php extension. It is free to download and use.
Why use PHP?
- Free and Open Source
- There are almost all required documentation and videos.
- extensive community backing
- practically all hosting servers support
- HTML integration is simple
- shorter learning curve than other languages
- built-in assistance
- PHP is platform-neutral.
- runs effectively on the server-side or backend
- simple to learn
- Database connections are simple. The most used database for PHP is MySQL. Additional databases
- Oracle
- Postgres
- MS SQL Server
- ODBC etc.
Examples of PHP’s popularity
The most widely used server-side or backend programming language is PHP. WordPress, the top blogging platform on the internet, was created using PHP. Facebook, the most widely used social network, is also created with PHP.
Examples-
- Facebook.com
- Wikipedia.org
- Microsoft.com
- WordPress.com
- Zoom.us
- Vk.com
- 17ok.com
- Instructure.com
- 360. cn
- Sina.com.cn
PHP Syntex
PHP tags are in the PHP file. Many other sorts of tags, including HTML and front-side scripts like Javascript, may be found in PHP files.
PHP File Extensions
Some old extension
- .phtml
- .php3
- .php4
- .php5
- .phps
But currently, The file must save with the “.php” extension
Versions of PHP
PHP 7 is the most recent version (7.4.12, Till November 2020). The error handling in PHP 7 has improved, and it is significantly quicker. But PHP 5.6 is the most widely used. Also common is PHP 5.3.
Most Popular PHP Frameworks
- Laravel
- Codeigniter
- Phalcon
- CakePHP
- Symfony
- Zend
- FuelPHP
- YII
- PHPixie
- Slim
What will PHP do with it?
- Dynamic page creation
- Can create, delete, add, close, read, write, open, and modify possible
- Data encryption
- Database edit
- Cookies receive and send
- User Access Control
What is Scripting Language?
Scripting, often known as a scripting language, is a type of programming that consists of instructions for automating the performance of tasks and interpreting them at run time.
The goal of the script language is to improve performance and carry out each task for an application sequentially. Both client-side and server-side activities may be carried out with HTML. The HTML page incorporates both client-side and server-side functionality.
Difference between Scripting Language and Programming Language
Scripting Language
- It is employed for standard work.
- Possible without compilation to execute
- It is integrated into various software platforms.
Programming Language
- The finest server-side language is PHP, which can be used to create any type of online application.
- The compilation is necessary before execution.
- There is no need to integrate additional software.
What is PHP used for? and Common Usage of PHP
Data from W3Techs shows that PHP is utilized by 78.9% of all websites around the globe.
Common PHP use-
- CMS (Example: WordPress, Joomla)
- Blogs (News365)
- E-Commerce (Example: Prestashop, Magento, Opencart, etc.)
- Social Networks (Example: Facebook, Digg)
- Others (Example: Wikipedia, Yahoo)
Comparison between PHP and other Languages
PHP
Hypertext Pre-processor, or PHP.
- Simple to Learn
- Open-source
- virtually all web hosting support
- HTML is simple to integrate with.
- potential extension with other languages
- Other databases can support MySQL because it is native.
- built-in support for web services.
ASP
Active Server Pages are referred to as ASP.
- a little challenging to learn
- ASP is not open-source software.
- a dedicated hosting server is required.
- Complex interfaces with HTML Extended, something other languages cannot do.
- To connect to the database, third-party drivers are required.
- Use of the web services.
- Internet framework
JSP
Java Server Pages are referred to as JSP.
- harder than PHP
- Open-source
- help from web hosting is adequate.
- Using Java classes and libraries, complex integration with HTML Extension is made feasible.
- To connect to the database, third-party drivers are required.
- Add-on libraries are used by web services.
CFML
Cold Fusion Markup Language is known as CFML.
- harder than PHP
- Both commercial and open-source versions are accessible.
- A dedicated hosting server is required.
- It is simple to connect HTML
- Extended with other languages.
- The most recent version has native support; previous versions utilize ODBC
Wrapping Up
PHP is a popular server-side programming language. PHP is used on almost all types of websites. CMS, eCommerce, Hospital, Pharmacy, HRMS, ERP, Inventory, LMS, Restaurant and Hotel Management, VMS, Blockchain, Chatbot, and other advanced web applications like management tools are created with PHP and PHP framework.
If you're just starting out, master the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Consider the fact that PHP still has a 78 percent market share.
Want to Assess your knowledge? visit online test for PHP for online quizzes.
Thanks for Reading!
Happy Learning!
