How do I Learn PHP? A Complete Guide for Beginners - w9school

PHP is a widely-used, free, and efficient alternative to competitors such as Microsoft's ASP. PHP is a server scripting language, and a powerful tool for making dynamic and interactive Web pages.

PHP Add to Reading List

How do I Learn PHP? A Complete Guide for Beginners - w9school

"The only way to do great work with PHP is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle."

- Steve Jobs

PHP Introduction

What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.

And if you have basic understanding of above mentioned subjects already then follow this article:

What is PHP?

PHP stands for "Hypertext Preprocessor."
PHP is a popular server-side scripting language used primarily for web development.
PHP is designed to be embedded within HTML code and executed on the web server, generating dynamic content that is then sent to the user's web browser.
PHP is an open-source, server-side scripting language used primarily for web development.
Its main purpose is to create interactive and data-driven websites by processing data and interacting with databases.
PHP is a versatile and widely used server-side scripting language with a broad range of applications.
Its ease of use, platform independence, and extensive library support make it popular among web developers for various purposes.
PHP is powerful enough to be at the core of the biggest blogging system on the web (WordPress)!
PHP is deep enough to run large social networks!
PHP is also easy enough to be a beginner's first server side language!

Some Key Features of PHP

Key features of PHP include:

Server-Side Scripting: PHP code is executed on the server, allowing it to generate dynamic web content before sending it to the client's browser. This enables the creation of interactive and data-driven websites.
Open Source: PHP is an open-source language, meaning its source code is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. This has contributed to its widespread adoption and continuous improvement.
Platform Independence: PHP is platform-independent, meaning it can run on various operating systems like Windows, Linux, macOS, etc., and is compatible with different web servers like Apache, Nginx, etc.
Support for Databases: PHP has built-in support for working with various databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and more. This makes it easy to create dynamic web applications that interact with databases to store and retrieve data.
Extensive Library Support: PHP has a vast ecosystem of libraries and frameworks that provide pre-built functions and tools for various tasks, such as building web applications, handling authentication, handling file uploads, and more.
Integration with HTML: PHP code can be seamlessly integrated into HTML files, allowing developers to embed dynamic content directly into the markup.
Community and Documentation: PHP has a large and active community of developers, which means there is plenty of support, tutorials, and documentation available for beginners and experienced developers alike.

Uses of PHP

Here are some of the common uses of PHP:

Web Development: PHP's primary use is for web development. It is used to build dynamic and interactive websites, where content can change based on user input or other factors. PHP can generate HTML, process form data, handle cookies and sessions, and interact with databases to create dynamic web pages.
Content Management Systems (CMS): PHP is the backbone of many popular content management systems like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. CMS platforms use PHP to manage website content, create themes, and handle user interactions.
E-commerce Websites: PHP is frequently used in building e-commerce websites. It enables developers to create shopping carts, process payments, manage inventory, and handle order tracking.
Social Media Platforms: Social media websites often use PHP to handle user registrations, login systems, friend requests, and content sharing functionalities.
Web Applications: PHP is used to develop various web applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems, project management tools, and online collaboration platforms.
Form Handling: PHP is commonly employed to handle form submissions on websites. It can process user input, validate data, and store it in databases or send it via email.
API Development: PHP can be used to build APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that allow different software applications to communicate with each other.
Web Services: PHP can create web services that provide data and functionalities to other applications or websites, often using technologies like JSON or XML for data exchange.
Data Processing and Manipulation: PHP can be used for data processing tasks, such as reading and writing files, parsing data, and transforming information between different formats.
User Authentication and Authorization: PHP is commonly used for implementing user authentication systems, ensuring secure access to various parts of a website or web application.
Image Processing: PHP has built-in functions and libraries for image processing, allowing developers to resize, crop, and manipulate images on the fly.
Real-Time Chat Applications: PHP, along with other technologies like WebSocket, can be used to build real-time chat applications and messaging systems.
Web Scraping: PHP can be utilized for web scraping, extracting data from websites for various purposes, such as data analysis, content aggregation, or monitoring.

These are just a few examples of the many uses of PHP. Its flexibility and extensive community support have contributed to its longevity and continued relevance in the world of web development.

Why should you Learn PHP

Learning PHP can be beneficial for several reasons, particularly if you are interested in web development or software engineering.

Here are some compelling reasons why learning PHP could be a good choice:

Popular and Widespread: PHP is one of the most widely used server-side scripting languages, powering a significant portion of websites and web applications on the internet. By learning PHP, you gain access to a large job market and numerous opportunities in web development.
Versatile and Flexible: PHP is a versatile language that can handle various tasks, from simple form processing to building complex web applications and content management systems. Its flexibility allows you to use it for a wide range of projects.
Easy to Learn: PHP has a straightforward syntax, making it relatively easy for beginners to pick up and start writing code. If you are new to programming, PHP can be a good language to begin your journey.
Extensive Documentation and Community: PHP has a massive community of developers who actively contribute to its growth and share their knowledge through forums, tutorials, and online resources. Additionally, PHP's official documentation is comprehensive and user-friendly, making it easier to learn and find solutions to problems.
Cost-Effective: PHP is an open-source language, meaning it is free to use, and you can set up development environments with minimal cost. This makes it an attractive option for individuals and businesses alike. PHP is free. Download it from the official PHP resource: www.php.net
Web Development with WordPress: If you're interested in building websites with WordPress, understanding PHP is crucial. WordPress is built using PHP, and knowing PHP allows you to customize themes, create plugins, and extend its functionality.
Abundance of Resources: Due to PHP's popularity, you can find a vast number of libraries, frameworks, and tools that can simplify and speed up the development process. Popular PHP frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, and CodeIgniter provide https://w9school.com/robust structures for building web applications.
Job Opportunities: As mentioned earlier, PHP is widely used in web development, which means there is a consistent demand for PHP developers in the job market. Learning PHP can open doors to various job opportunities in the tech industry.
Compatibility and Platform Independence: PHP runs on various operating systems and is compatible with many web servers, providing developers with flexibility in deployment and hosting options. PHP runs on various platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.)
Strong Integration with Databases: PHP has built-in support for working with databases, making it easy to create dynamic websites that interact with databases to store and retrieve information. PHP supports a wide range of database.

Overall, learning PHP can be a valuable addition to your skill set, especially if you are interested in web development or software engineering. It equips you with the knowledge to build interactive and data-driven web applications, which are essential skills in today's technology-driven world.

What is a PHP File?

PHP files can contain text, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP code
PHP code is executed on the server, and the result is returned to the browser as plain HTML
PHP files have extension ".php"

History of PHP

The history of PHP dates back to the early 1990s when it was originally created as a set of simple scripts by Rasmus Lerdorf.

The name "PHP" initially stood for "Personal Home Page" because it was designed to help Lerdorf manage his personal website.

Over time, the tool gained popularity, and its capabilities expanded, leading to its transformation into a more general-purpose programming language.

Here are the key milestones in the history of PHP:

Creation of PHP/FI: In 1994, Rasmus Lerdorf created a set of CGI (Common Gateway Interface) binaries written in the C programming language. He named these scripts "Personal Home Page Tools" (PHP Tools or PHP/FI). They allowed him to track visitors to his online resume and gather data such as page hits and form submissions.
Introduction of PHP/FI 2.0: By 1995, Rasmus Lerdorf released a new version called PHP/FI 2.0. This version had additional functionality, including support for form handling, cookies, and the ability to connect to databases using mSQL.
PHP/FI 2.0 Public Release: In June 1995, Lerdorf released PHP/FI 2.0 as an open-source project. The release was met with enthusiasm from the growing web development community, who started contributing to its development.
Hypertext Preprocessor: In 1997, two developers, Zeev Suraski and Andi Gutmans, rewrote the parser for PHP/FI and created PHP 3 (PHP 3.0). They also introduced the recursive acronym "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor," which reflected its new purpose as a general-purpose server-side scripting language. PHP 3 introduced significant improvements, such as support for more databases and a more modular architecture.
PHP 4: In May 2000, PHP 4 was released with major performance improvements and better support for object-oriented programming. This version further fueled PHP's popularity and saw widespread adoption across the web.
PHP 5: In July 2004, PHP 5 was released, bringing several essential changes to the language. It introduced a more powerful object-oriented programming model, along with better support for XML and web services. PHP 5 was a significant step forward and solidified PHP's position as a leading web development language.
PHP 7: PHP 7 was released in December 2015 and represented a substantial performance boost over its predecessors. It introduced the Zend Engine 3.0, which significantly improved execution speed and reduced memory consumption. PHP 7 also brought new language features, enhanced error handling, and improved security.
PHP 8: PHP 8 was released in November 2020. It brought numerous improvements and new features, including the JIT (Just-In-Time) compiler, union types, attributes, and more.

Throughout its history, PHP has continued to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of web development. It remains one of the most popular and widely used server-side scripting languages, powering millions of websites and web applications across the internet.

We will be learning PHP 7 in this tutorial.