Introduction to PHP
PHP is a programming language that was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994. Initially, it was called PHP/FI. Currently, PHP is a scripting programming language. It is most often used to create websites, build web applications and also for data processing. PHP can be done from the command line.
The PHP programming language works on the principle of four modules:
- kernel modules
- official modules
- PECL repository
- PEAR repository
PHP is an open source programming language. It is available for free and can be used by everyone without any restrictions. It means that PHP source code can be freely modified by developers.
Thanks to PHP you can dynamically generate pages, create or modify files on the server and limit access data to subpage data on the website. Among the biggest advantages of this programming language are also the possibility of data encryption and the use of cookies.
It's worth mentioning that one of the most important features of the PHP programming language is also scalability. PHP can be used to create small and simple websites, web applications and systems supporting large corporations that process huge amounts of data. It can be said that the scope of use of this language is really wide. Due to the fact that it is open source, programmers (both beginners and more experienced ones) can quickly find help and answers to questions that will help them during the development phase.
Currently, the latest version of the PHP programming language is PHP7.
PHP in software projects
The simplest example of using the PHP programming language is handling forms on websites. Moreover, PHP allows you to operate databases, which requires knowledge of SQL - a structured query language that is used, among other things, for creating and modifying databases, as well as for entering and retrieving data from databases.
Content management systems, discussion forum systems, e-mail applications and database clients are most often created with PHP.
It is also worth adding that PHP is characterized by very high performance. It is estimated that currently around 80% of websites use PHP functionality.
The largest companies that use the PHP programming language include:
- WordPress
- Wikipedia
- Flicker
- Tesla
- IBM
Summary
Although PHP is a relatively old language, its popularity is not declining but still growing. The fact that it is used by many of the most popular websites means that it will not be easily replaced. In addition, it is constantly being developed to meet new requirements, the latest version 7.4.6 was released on May 14, 2020.
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