What You Should Already KnowBefore you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:
HTML
CSS
JavaScript
What is PHP?
PHP is an acronym for Hypertext Preprocessor
PHP is a widely-used, open source scripting language
PHP scripts are executed on the server
PHP costs nothing, it is free to download and use
PHP is simple for beginners.
PHP also offers many advanced features for professional programmers.
What is a PHP File?
PHP files can contain text, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP code
PHP code are executed on the server, and the result is returned to the browser as plain HTML
PHP files have extension ".php"
What Can PHP Do?
PHP can generate dynamic page content
PHP can create, open, read, write, and close files on the server
PHP can collect form data
PHP can send and receive cookies
PHP can add, delete, modify data in your database
PHP can restrict users to access some pages on your website
PHP can encrypt data
With PHP you are not limited to output HTML. You can output images, PDF files, and even Flash movies. You can also output any text, such as XHTML and XML.
Why PHP?
PHP runs on various platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.)
PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
PHP supports a wide range of databases
PHP is free. Download it from the official PHP resource:
www.php.net PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side
What Do I Need?To start using PHP, you can:
Find a web host with PHP and MySQL support
Install a web server on your own PC, and then install PHP and MySQL
Use a Web Host With PHP Support
If your server has activated support for PHP you do not need to do anything.
Just create some .php files, place them in your web directory, and the server will automatically parse them for you.
You do not need to compile anything or install any extra tools.
Because PHP is free, most web hosts offer PHP support.
Set Up PHP on Your Own PC
However, if your server does not support PHP, you must:
install a web server
install PHP
install a database, such as MySQL
The official PHP website (PHP.net) has installation instructions for PHP:
http://php.net/manual/en/install.php