Introduction to PHP
Hello there! If you're like me and recently got curious about web development and wondered how dynamic web pages work, then it's time to meet PHP 😄
As someone who just started this journey, I wanted to share what I’ve learned so far. Let’s try to understand together what PHP is all about.
What is PHP?
PHP stands for "Hypertext Preprocessor" (I know, it's a bit backward but that's how it is 🤓). PHP is a server-side scripting language. That means when you visit a website, PHP code runs in the background and sends the result to your browser as HTML.
It’s especially useful fordynamiccontent. So, if you want to show personalized content, fetch data from a database, or process a form — PHP is your friend.
Why is PHP So Popular?
- It’s easy to learn (especially friendly for beginners).
- It’s free and open source.
- Some of the world’s biggest platforms (like WordPress) run on PHP.
- Most servers support PHP, so setting it up is usually painless.
A Simple PHP Example
Now let me show you my very first PHP code!
<?php
echo "Hello, world!";
?>
That’s it! When you run the code above, your browser will simply show this message:Hello, world!
Don't forget: You need aserverto run this code. If you install a program like XAMPP or WampServer on your computer, you can test this code locally.
What Can I Do With PHP?
Honestly, there’s so much you can do! Here are a few examples:
- Process form data (like a login form)
- Connect with a database
- Handle user sessions (login/logout)
- Upload, display, or delete files
- Create things like blogs, e-commerce sites, admin panels, and more
Final Words
PHP sometimes gets a bad reputation online, but personally, I like it because it helped me get started without overwhelming me. If you want to build websites, learning PHP is a great place to start.
In future posts, I plan to talk about PHP variables, if-else conditions, and for loops. Stay tuned 🎉
With love,
A code enthusiast who can't stop thinking about coding 👩💻👨💻
