PHP: An introduction
- PHP is an abbreviation for “PHP Hypertext Preprocessor”.
- PHP is a server side scripting language that is used with HTML.
- It is used to manage the databases, contents, dynamic content and tracking and build entire e-commerce sites.
- It is used along with a number of databases such as MySQL, Oracle, Sybase, Informix, and Microsoft SQL Server.
- PHP is executed on the server which is not the client machine. If we want to run PHP on local machine then some software need to be installed like Apache server etc.
- PHP is forgiving n nature.
- PHP language syntax is very much similar to C language.
Characteristics of PHP
Five important characteristics make PHP more usual:
- PHP is simple to use.
- It is highly efficient language.
- PHP is secure in nature.
- It is highly flexible. It can be used with various languages like HTML and CSS.
- Familiarity in use.
- PHP can create dynamic page content.
- PHP can open, close, read, write, delete files on the server.
- PHP can be used in user forms where information from the user needs to be collected.
- PHP can send and receive and delete cookies.
- PHP can create session of the users who wish to visit the site.
- PHP can make changes like add, delete or modify data in your database
- PHP can control user access.
- PHP is able to encrypt the data in order to make it secure.
Uses of PHP:
It is very powerful so that it is able to be at the core of the word press which is biggest blogging system on the web.
It is also able run Facebook which is the largest social networking media.
It is also easy to be used by the beginner.
Applications of PHP:
Server side scripting: PHP is basically used for server side scripting. Three things are required to make this work. A PHP parser, a web server and a web browser are required. User first requires installing PHP on the local machine and making it a local server and running the language code there.
Command Line scripting: PHP script can run without any server by your machine a local host. PHP parser is required to use that way. This type of usage is for scripts regularly executed using Linux or Task Scheduler. These scripts can also be used for simple text processing
Writing desktop applications: PHP is most suited language to make a desktop application but without graphical user interface, but advanced features of PHP can be used for making modifications to the applications.
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