What is PHP?
PHP is a popular open source server-side scripting language which is used primarily for web development. PHP is a recursive acronym for Hypertext Preprocessor. It was earlier called as Personal Home Page.
PHP scripts can only be executed on a server which has PHP installed and the results are then sent to the browser as plain HTML. Due to these client computers which access PHP scripts require only a web browser. PHP can be integrated with many popular databases such as MySQL, Oracle, Informix, Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server.
What does a PHP file Contains?
A PHP file consists of Text, HTML, JavaScript ,CSS and PHP code. A PHP file has PHP tags and has a ".php" extension. PHP can also be embedded inside a normal HTML page which allows us to generate dynamic pages. This means that there would be PHP statements inside your HTML file like in the example below. This example is a basic PHP application that will output as “Hello World!” in a browser.
<html> <head> <title>PHP Sample Application</title> </head> <body> <?php // Start of PHP inside an HTML page //Display a welcome message on the web browser echo 'Hello World !!' // End of PHP tag ?> </body> </html>
Some Common Applications of PHP
PHP has diverse and powerful features due to which it can be used to build a multitude of applications ranging from simple websites to complex and cutting-edge web applications. Some of its applications are as follows:
- PHP is used to generate dynamic web pages and files.
- We can collect data from a web form such as user information, credit card information, email and much more.
- PHP scripts can help us send emails.
- We can send and receive cookies to track the visitors to a website.
- PHP scripts have data encryption capabilities which allow for safe transmission over the internet.
- We can restrict unauthorized access to websites.
Advantages of PHP
PHP is the preferred scripting language of web developers today because of several reasons. Some of the reasons are as follows:
- Open Source - It is an open source and free scripting language. There is a strong community of developers who develop and maintain PHP. They provide free download and use of PHP and ready support for issues
- Easy to Learn - PHP is easy to learn and intuitive scripting language compared to other languages such as JSP, ASP etc. Hence it is ideal for freshers foraying into the world of web development.
- Cost Effective - Most of the web hosting servers support PHP by default unlike other languages such as ASP that need IIS which makes PHP cost-effective.
- Server Side language - PHP is an out-and-out server-side scripting language. Only the server will process PHP files to provide resources that the client computer has requested for. Due to this client computers do not need to process PHP They only need a web-browser.
- Multi Databases - PHP has inbuilt database support for working with MySQL. HP can also easily integrate with other commonly used database management systems. You can use PHP with Postgres, Oracle, MS SQL Server, ODBC etc
- Cross-platform - PHP is platform independent which means that we can use PHP on a number of platforms without any issues. You can deploy your PHP application on a number of different operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Mac OS etc.
Due to its numerous benefits, PHP is here to stay as popular programming language amongst web developers. PHP is a must-have skill for anyone foraying into the world of web development technologies.