Introduction to PHP
PHP is a short for Hypertext Preprocessor. PHP is the most popular server-side scripting language for Web Development. It was created by Rasmus Lerdorf around 1990s, since then it becomes one of the popular languages for building dynamic websites. Before you learn PHP, make sure you have enough knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
PHP is well known server-side scripting language. This means that PHP code is executed on the web server, and the result are sent to the user’s web browser. PHP is in contrast to client-side languages like JavaScript, which runs in the user’s web browser. PHP is open-source and free to use.
What Can We Do With PHP
PHP is commonly used to built dynamic websites and content management system (CMS) like WordPress. It is also used to perform server side scripting tasks like managing sessions, handling cookies etc. PHP can also connect to various databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and more, which allows you to store and retrieve data dynamically.
Apart from this, PHP can also be used to build APIs, and can generate dynamic content based on the user’s input. With the help of frameworks like WebSocket and libraries like Ratchet, it can be used to build real-time chat applications and online games.
Why Should You Learn PHP
Learning PHP can be highly beneficial for several reasons, which includes:
- High Job Opportunities:- Web developers that also have knowledge about PHP are in high demand in the market. Almost all businesses and organizations hire web developers that also possess PHP knowledge, to maintain their websites and build custom web applications.
- Easy to Learn:- Compared to other server-side languages like Java, PHP is very easy to learn. Its syntax is similar to JavaScript, so if you have already learned JavaScript, you’ll find PHP familiar.
- Cost Effective:- PHP is open-source and free to use. You don’t need to invest in buying an expensive software or licenses to get started with PHP development.
- Wide Adoption:- PHP is most used server-side scripting languages on the web. Therefore, if you ever encounter difficulties while writing PHP code, you can search online, and there is a high likelihood that you will find a solution.
- Freelancing Opportunities:- PHP developers often find freelancing opportunities to work on projects for clients worldwide, providing flexibility and the potential for remote work.
Where to Write PHP
We can write PHP code on any code editor like, VS Code, Atom etc. But to execute the code we should download and install XAMPP server on our system.
Just like html files are saved with an extension of .html, CSS files with .css and JavaScript files with .js . Similarly we must save all our PHP files with an extension of .php.
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