PHP

PHP, or Hypertext Preprocessor, is a popular server-side scripting language that is used to build dynamic web applications. It was first created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994, and since then has become one of the most widely used programming languages on the web. In this lesson, we will explore the history of PHP and its basic syntax.

History of PHP:
PHP was initially created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 as a set of Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts to track visitors to his personal website. Over time, he added more features and functionality to the scripts, and eventually released the code as an open-source project in 1995. This early version of PHP was called “Personal Home Page Tools” (PHP Tools), and it quickly gained popularity among web developers.

In 1997, two developers named Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski rewrote the codebase of PHP, adding support for more advanced features such as classes and functions. This new version of PHP, called PHP 3, was released in 1998 and quickly became one of the most popular programming languages for web development.

Over the years, PHP has continued to evolve and grow, with the release of PHP 4 in 2000, PHP 5 in 2004, and PHP 7 in 2015. Each new version added new features and improved performance, making PHP a powerful tool for building web applications.

Basic PHP Syntax:
PHP code is typically embedded within HTML code using special tags. The opening tag for PHP code is “<?php” and the closing tag is “?>”. Anything between these tags is treated as PHP code and executed on the server before the HTML code is sent to the client’s web browser.

Here’s an example of basic PHP code:


<?php

  $name = "John";
  $age = 30;
  echo "My name is " . $name . " and I am " . $age . " years old.";

?>

<?php

$name = "John";

$age = 30;

echo "My name is " . $name . " and I am " . $age . " years old.";

In this example, we are creating two variables, $name and $age, and then using the “echo” statement to output a string that includes the values of these variables.

PHP variables are prefixed with a dollar sign “$”. They can store any type of data, including strings, integers, floats, arrays, and objects.

PHP statements end with a semicolon “;” and can be written on a single line or across multiple lines.

PHP Summary:
PHP is a powerful server-side scripting language that is widely used in web development. Its history dates back to the mid-1990s, and it has continued to evolve and improve over the years. In this lesson, we covered the basics of PHP syntax, including variables, statements, and outputting data. With this knowledge, you can start writing your own PHP code and building dynamic web applications.

PHP LESSONS