Go to page: 1 2 

Printer Friendly Version

What is the PHP scripting language? Why is it so popular? How does it work? How can I start using it? What's the latest version? These are all questions that the newbie Web professional (and others) ask, especially as PHP becomes the de facto standard rivaling ASP and JSP.

What is PHP?

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is an open source, server-side, HTML embedded scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages. PHP script is embedded within an HTML document, and the programmer can jump between HTML and PHP seamlessly within the document while the code remains inaccessible to users because it is processed on the server. It combines the power of CGI scripting with the ease of working within HTML.

Why is this important? Well, "way back when," a form on a Web page was a big deal, and coders across the land struggled with complex CGI scripting to make something as simple as sending the contents of a form to e-mail work reliably. For those of us working on Intranets that were not hardcore coders, it was a hair-pulling affair even when using pre-written freeware scripts.

Today, however, with the relative ease of PHP coupled with its depth and power, it is not only easier than ever to write your own code, but the Web abounds with free and shareware PHP scripts at places like Hotscripts and PHP Scripts. From calendars to shopping carts, the list is endless.

Why is it Popular?

Part of why PHP is popular is simply because it has become ubiquitous. Hosting companies install it as part of their core package and more and more useful applications for the end user are available. The upsurge in open source usage certainly helps the case for PHP. To get a sense of the trend of popularity growth of PHP, visit these recent Netcraft survey results at http://www.php.net/usage.php. Clearly PHP has arrived and is here to stay.

Certainly the world didn't need another scripting language just for the fun of it, so what did PHP do that the others didn't? Some of the key advantages that PHP offers:

Ease of use

Enhanced security

Cross-platform operability

Compatibility with a wide variety of databases

Support for most current web servers

Communicates with numerous network protocols

Not limited to HTML output

Strong text processing capabilities

Transparency to the end user

Support for regular expressions

PHP offers the best of both worlds since it allows access to built-in variables like CGI and can interact with forms and cookies, yet maintains the elegance and simplicity of an easy to learn, easy to use language with high degrees of code reusability.

Once you have an operating system and Web server setup, PHP installation is fairly easy. Essentially you need to install the PHP processor and have your server associate .php files with it. PHP.net has detailed installation instructions for UNIX/Linux, Windows, and Mac OS on its Web site.

Once you have PHP installed, all you need to do is place your php files in your Web directories and the server will automatically parse them when someone points their web-browser to that page.

As of September, 2006, the current version of PHP is 5.1.6. The most recent download can always be found at http://www.php.net/downloads.php. Clearly the open source community is continually improving PHP as a trip through the archives reveals new releases at a minimum every few months.

The amount of support available for PHP is wide. Don't think that Open Source means lack of "formal" resources or that you have to go it alone. A quick glance at PHP.Net boasts numerous new "news" items ranging from the new O'Reilly book "Mastering Regular Expressions" to the announcement of several conferences, expos, and learning opportunities.

And, if you prefer working with a third-party that packages everything together nicely for you and offers support, you can take that route with PHP as well. Zend is a company that provides products and consulting to enhance the entire PHP lifecycle within your organization. Zend has taken all the pieces of PHP from the server platform to the developers desktop and made it enterprise ready with less effort and less time on the part of the IT staff.

If certification is a big deal for you and your staff, now you can take that route with PHP as well. In September 2006 Zend announced the availability of PHP 5 certification enabling developers to test and certify their expertise. As PHP within the enterprise grows it gives you a way to measure staff and consultant savvy in an objective way.

Go to page: 1 2 

Printer Friendly Version