In this lesson, you will learn about PHP Characteristics, technical aspects, PHP Request Life Cycle, and other vital information to start the PHP learning journey.
What exactly is a PHP file?
A PHP file and script have the “.PHP” extension. Some earlier PHP file extensions include phtml, PHP3, PHP4, PHP5, and PHPs. HTML was considered when developing the PHP script, and PHP files comprise HTML tags and PHP scripting code too. It can, however, be a mix of PHP, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS code. A PHP file has a PHP script known as a “pure PHP file.” It is unnecessary to translate it into another language.
PHP Request Life Cycle
Understanding how a PHP script works on a Web server is vital.
- Step 1: A user sends an HTTP request to a Web server by completing a form on a Web page or using AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). Alternatively, the user types a URL into the browser.
- Step 2: If a PHP script is part of the user’s request, the Web server tells the PHP engine to parse and run the script.
- Step 3: When the script runs, it usually sends an HTML document to the Web browser.
Some PHP Characteristics
The following are some compelling arguments regarding PHP for Web Development:
- First, PHP’s ability to program cross-platform is favorable when trying to target multiple market segments. PHP is a platform-independent programming language. It runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, and Solaris, among other operating systems.
- All Web servers, including Apache, Internet Information Server (IIS), Zeus, and Lighttpd, are compatible with the PHP engine. You can create and test your PHP Web site on one platform before deploying it to another with a few script changes.
- PHP scripts are faster to execute than scripts written in other programming languages like JSP and ASP.
- PHP source code in all versions is public on the internet. You do not have to buy them; you can get them for free, depending on your needs.
- HTML tags and scripts embedded with PHP code.
- The rich online documentation at www.PHP.net is another reason for PHP’s popularity.
Programming-related issues where PHP can be helpful.
- PHP retains considerable functions for creating, reading, writing, removing, and closing files on the Web server.
- PHP may pile data from forms, save it to a file, email it to users, and return it to them.
- PHP limits the pages your website users can access.
- Encrypting data with PHP is possible.
- Cookies can be accessed and set by PHP.
- PHP can insert, delete, and modify data in a database.
This concludes the PHP Characteristics lesson. In the next class, you will learn how to set up the environment to start developing PHP applications.