Dynamic Web Technology PHP Basics: What is PHP

PHP is a server-side scripting language used to make dynamic Web pages. You create pages through PHP and HTML. When a visitor opens a Web page, the server handles the PHP instruction and sends its processing results to the visitor's browser, as if it were an ASP or ColdFusion. However, PHP is not the same as ASP or ColdFusion, it is a cross-platform open source code. PHP can be executed in Windows NT and many different versions of Unix, and it can be compiled into an Apache module, or a CGI binary file. PHP is especially lightweight and handy when it is compiled as Apache. It does not have the burden of any cumbersome program, so it can quickly return results without having to adjust the mod_perl to maintain a smaller memory image of the server.

In addition to the content that can be used to generate your Web page, PHP can also be used to send HTTP headers. You can set cookies, authorize management, and redirect users to a new page. It also has a good access to a lot of databases and ODBC. It can also be integrated with a wide range of external libraries, allowing you to do almost anything from creating PDF files to parsing XML.

The PHP code is embedded in the Web page, so you don't have to create a special development environment or IDE for it. You use the logo PHP code (you can also set PHP to use the ASP form of the <%%> logo or even use). The PHP engine will handle anything between these flags.

The syntax of the PHP language is similar to that of C and Perl. You don't need to declare variables before you use them. It is also quick to create arrays and hashes (associative arrays). PHP's initial object-oriented features also provide an easy way to organize and encapsulate code.

Although PHP runs fastest when embedded in Apache, there are operational guidelines on how to seamlessly integrate it with Microsoft IIS and Netscape Enterprise server in a PHP-related site. If you don't have PHP yet, you can download it on its official website. You can also find a user's manual that includes all of the functions and features of PHP.

Create your own command
Because the PHP script is written in an HTML document, you don't have to use a special editor to create the page. But you have to execute PHP on the server that supports PHP. If you are using your own server, it is easy to do so. If you are working on a page through an ISP service, you will need to contact your ISP's customer service team to ask them to install PHP for you.

For UNIX systems, you must have basic UNIX skills, such as make and a C language compiler. On your system, you will also have an ANSI C compiler and a Web server.

For Windows 95/NT, you need one of the following servers: Microsoft Personal Web server,microsoft Internet Information Server 3 or 4,apache 1.3.x, or Omni H TTPD 2.0b1.

You can find all the information about installation setup PHP on the PHP website www.php.com.