Introduction To Php
PHP is a powerful server-side scripting language for creating dynamic and interactive websites.
PHP is the widely-used, free, and efficient alternative to competitors such as Microsoft's ASP. PHP is perfectly suited for Web development and can be embedded directly into the HTML code.
The PHP syntax is very similar to Perl and C. PHP is often used together with Apache (web server) on various operating systems. It also supports ISAPI and can be used with Microsoft's IIS on Windows.
Introduction to PHP :
A PHP file may contain text, HTML tags and scripts. Scripts in a PHP file are executed on the server.
What You Should Already Know :
Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:
What is PHP :
- PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
- PHP is a server-side scripting language, like ASP
- PHP scripts are executed on the server
- PHP supports many databases (MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC, etc.)
- PHP is an open source software (OSS)
- PHP is free to download and use
What is a PHP File :
- PHP files may contain text, HTML tags and scripts
- PHP files are returned to the browser as plain HTML
- PHP files have a file extension of ".php", ".php3", or ".phtml"
What is MySQL :
- MySQL is a database server
- MySQL is ideal for both small and large applications
- MySQL supports standard SQL
- MySQL compiles on a number of platforms
- MySQL is free to download and use
PHP + MySQL :
- PHP combined with MySQL are cross-platform (means that you can develop in Windows and serve on a Unix platform)
Why PHP :
- PHP runs on different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.)
- PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
- PHP is FREE to download from the official PHP resource: www.php.net
- PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side
Where to Start :
- Install an Apache server on a Windows or Linux machine
- Install PHP on a Windows or Linux machine
- Install MySQL on a Windows or Linux machine
