Learning PHP: A Gentle Introduction to the Web’s Most Popula…

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Learning PHP: A Gentle Introduction to the Web’s Most Popular Scripting Language

PHP, or Hypertext Preprocessor, is a server-side scripting language that has been the backbone of the web for over two decades. With its ease of use, flexibility, and scalability, PHP has become the most popular scripting language for web development, powering over 80% of the world’s websites, including Facebook, WordPress, and Wikipedia. In this article, we’ll take a gentle introduction to PHP, exploring its history, features, and benefits, as well as providing a step-by-step guide on how to get started with learning PHP.

A Brief History of PHP

PHP was first released in 1995 by Rasmus Lerdorf, a Danish-Canadian programmer, as a set of tools to manage his personal website. Initially called “Personal Home Page,” PHP was designed to be a simple scripting language that could be used to create dynamic web pages. Over the years, PHP has evolved to become a powerful, open-source language with a massive community of developers, frameworks, and libraries.

Features and Benefits of PHP

So, why is PHP so popular? Here are some of its key features and benefits:

  1. Easy to learn: PHP has a simple syntax and is relatively easy to learn, making it a great language for beginners.
  2. Cross-platform: PHP can run on multiple operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.
  3. Open-source: PHP is free to use, modify, and distribute, with a large community of developers contributing to its growth.
  4. Fast and scalable: PHP can handle a large number of concurrent users and is optimized for performance, making it a great choice for high-traffic websites.
  5. Extensive libraries and frameworks: PHP has a vast array of libraries and frameworks, such as Laravel, Symfony, and CodeIgniter, that make web development faster and more efficient.

Getting Started with PHP

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s dive into how to get started with PHP. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

  1. Install a code editor: Choose a code editor like Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, or Atom, and install it on your computer.
  2. Set up a local server: Install a local server like XAMPP, WAMP, or MAMP, which will allow you to run PHP on your computer.
  3. Learn the basics: Start with basic PHP syntax, such as variables, data types, loops, and functions.
  4. Practice, practice, practice: Build small projects, such as a simple calculator or a to-do list, to get hands-on experience with PHP.
  5. Explore frameworks and libraries: Once you have a solid grasp of PHP basics, explore popular frameworks and libraries like Laravel, Symfony, or CodeIgniter.

Resources for Learning PHP

To help you on your PHP journey, here are some resources to get you started:

  1. Official PHP documentation: The official PHP documentation is an exhaustive resource that covers everything from basic syntax to advanced topics.
  2. PHP tutorials on YouTube: There are many excellent YouTube channels, such as Traversy Media, freeCodeCamp, and PHP Academy, that offer in-depth PHP tutorials.
  3. Online courses: Websites like Udemy, Coursera, and edX offer a wide range of PHP courses, from beginner to advanced levels.
  4. PHP communities: Join online communities like Reddit’s r/learnprogramming, r/php, and Stack Overflow to connect with other PHP developers and get help with any questions you may have.

Conclusion

PHP is a powerful, flexible, and scalable scripting language that has been the driving force behind the web for over two decades. With its ease of use, extensive libraries, and massive community, PHP is an excellent choice for anyone looking to start a career in web development. By following the steps outlined in this article, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a proficient PHP developer. So, what are you waiting for? Start learning PHP today and join the millions of developers who have already discovered the power of PHP!

9 reviews for Learning PHP: A Gentle Introduction to the Web’s Most Popula…

  1. Brandon

    Clear, concise, helpful
    Needed to transition to PHP for a project, and didn’t need to sit through CS101 again. I liked that I was able to skip around and get what I needed without missing context

  2. Evan trainer

    Great book for beginners!
    A very good book for beginners who are looking for an introduction to some of the basics and a few in depth explanations and examples!

  3. Matlock

    So far so good
    It starts from scratch, chapters are short, nice summary and engaging exercises at the end of chapters.

  4. Kappa

    Easy to understand and follow
    We are using this in a self-paced study group. It is working out fine.

  5. Bhoj raj

    Five Stars
    Just Amazing.

  6. Technology shopper

    Examples in this book are lousy
    If you are a beginner don’t bother with this book. The examples are in the book can’t be completed because of numerous errors. You will probably need to use something like w3schools.com to learn coding. One example 2-6if (strcasecmp($_POST[’email’], ‘president@whitehouse.gov’) == 0) {print “Welcome back, US President.”;}No marks no forms where included for the ’email’ data. It could have been done easier withan or use other example from php.net

  7. Jeremy

    Perhaps better for someone who knows more programming that I do
    I know HTML5 well and used to be a FORTRAN programmer (yes, I am OLD), but I didn’t find this book easy to use. The book has a good index which helped, but I’m hoping there will be better resources out there for what I need.

  8. Tianni

    This book had potential, pleasantly disappointed
    I wish that all the concepts in the book related to 1 project. I hate when childish examples are used to explain things. I learn best when I can see how functions, objects and if/else statements are used in real projects. Great reference book but you would need another learning source if your super new to PHP.

  9. 263715

    Il libro è carente nell’illustrazione del linguaggio in particolare per quanto riguarda la OOP non accennando nemmeno per esempio ai distruttori o al metodo __toString(), ma è completo nell’esporre le funzionalità di libreria con esempi semplici c.a cookie, sessioni, operazioni su array etc. e senza trascurare cenni a cose un po’ più esoteriche come i protocol wrapper.

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