What is PHP?

PHP Introduction

About Php

PHP allows you to preform numerous mathematical tasks. You can do anything from simple addition to complex geometry. You can also do things like round numbers, convert bases, or find the absolute value of numbers.

1. PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
2. PHP is a widely-used, open source scripting language
3. PHP scripts are executed on the server
4. PHP is free to download and use

What is a PHP File?

1. PHP files can contain text, HTML, JavaScript code, and PHP code
2. PHP code are executed on the server, and the result is returned to the browser as plain HTML
3. PHP files have a default file extension of ".php"

Use For PHP

1. PHP can generate dynamic page content
2. PHP can create, open, read, write, and close files on the server
3. PHP can collect form data 
4. PHP can send and receive cookies
5. PHP can add, delete, modify data in your database
6. PHP can restrict users to access some pages on your website
7. PHP can encrypt data

Why PHP Use

PHP runs on different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.)
PHP is free. Download it from the official
PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side
PHP has support for a wide range of databases
PHP resource: www.php.net

What are the differences between PHP 4 and PHP 5?

While PHP 5 was purposely designed to be as compatible as possible with previous versions, there are some significant changes. Some of these changes include:

• A new OOP model based on the Zend Engine 2.0
• A new extension for improved MySQL support
• Built-in native support for SQLite 
• A new error reporting constant, E_STRICT, for run-time code suggestions 
• A host of new functions to simplify code authoring (and reduce the need to write your own functions for many common procedures)

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