Beginning for Php Programmers

PHP is scripting language used for development of dynamic web applications. Best combination to use PHP is Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP (LAMP stack). Its very easy to learn PHP and develop dynamic web applications for your website and Intranet.

What is PHP?

It is an open source scripting language which can be used to develop the dynamic website easily. People are using PHP to develop small and big e-commerce applications.

History of PHP

• In 1994 the development of PHP was started by Rasmus Lerdorf
• On June 8, 1995,  it was released publicly
• In 1997, Zeev Suraski and Andi Gutmans rewrote the parser.
• In 1998, PHP 3 was officially launched
• In 1999 Suraski and Gutmans  producing the Zend Engine
• On May 22, 2004, PHP 4 was released and  it was powered by Zend engine 1.0

Different features in PHP

1. Open source, free to download and use 
2. Cross platform 
3. Compatible with any server 
4. Supports popular databases 
5. Easy to learn 

Data types supported by PHP

Following data types are supported by PHP:

• Integer: It is stored as signed integers with 32 bits, with a range of -2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647
• Float: It is stored as IEEE floating point number with 64 bits.
• String: It is a sequence of 8-bit characters.
• Boolean: It has two literal values: 'true' and 'false'
• Array: It store an ordered map of pairs of keys and values.
• Object: It stores an instance of class.
• Resource: It is for storing file handling, or database connection.
• Null: It has only value null.

PHP Coding
Every code in PHP starts with <?php and ends with  ?>
If you want to print "I am learning php!" using PHP, then either use print or echo command, both are used to print anything on the screen, so type either :

Example 1:

<?php

  print("I am learning PHP");

?>

Example 2:

<?php

  echo("I am learning PHP");

?>

Output:

I am learning PHP