Table of Contents
Welcome to PHP Programming
PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a popular server-side scripting language designed for web development. It powers over 75% of websites on the internet, including WordPress, Facebook, and Wikipedia.
What You'll Learn
- What PHP is and why it's important
- How to set up a PHP development environment
- Writing your first PHP script
- Understanding how PHP works with HTML
Setting Up PHP
To start coding in PHP, you need a web server with PHP installed. Here are your options:
Option 1: Local Development Environment
// Download and install XAMPP, WAMP, or MAMP
// These include Apache, MySQL, and PHP
// Start Apache and navigate to http://localhostOption 2: Online PHP Playground
Use online editors like PHP Fiddle or 3v4l.org for quick testing.
Your First PHP Script
Create a file called hello.php:
<?php
// This is a PHP comment
echo "Hello, World!";
?>PHP Tags
PHP code must be enclosed in PHP tags:
<?php
// Your PHP code here
?>
// Short tags (not recommended)
<? echo "Hello"; ?>
// Echo tags
<?= "Hello World" ?>Mixing PHP with HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>My First PHP Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1><?php echo "Welcome to PHP!"; ?></h1>
<p>Today is <?= date("Y-m-d") ?></p>
</body>
</html>Practice Exercise
Create a PHP file that displays:
- Your name
- Current date and time
- A welcome message
Key Takeaways
- PHP is a server-side scripting language
- PHP code runs on the server before sending HTML to the browser
- Always use
<?php ?>tags - PHP files must have a .php extension