PHP is a server-side scripting language.

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What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

• HTML/XHTML


• JavaScript

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our
.

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What is PHP?

• PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor


• PHP is a server-side scripting language, like ASP


• PHP scripts are executed on the server



• PHP supports many databases (MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid,
  PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC, etc.)


• PHP is an open source software


• PHP is free to download and use

What is a PHP File?

• PHP files can contain text, HTML tags and scripts


• PHP files are returned to the browser as plain HTML


• PHP files have a file extension of ".php", ".php3", or ".phtml"

What is MySQL?

• MySQL is a database server


• MySQL is ideal for both small and large applications


• MySQL supports standard SQL


• MySQL compiles on a number of platforms


• MySQL is free to download and use

PHP + MySQL

• PHP combined with MySQL are cross-platform (you can develop in
  Windows and serve on a Unix platform)

Why PHP?

• PHP runs on different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.)


• PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)



• PHP is FREE to download from the official PHP resource: www.php.net


• PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side

Where to Start?

To get access to a web server with PHP support, you can:

• Install Apache (or IIS) on your own server, install PHP, and MySQL


• Or find a web hosting plan with PHP and MySQL support