PHP is a programming language used to script web sites which are dynamic and interactive. You’ll discover it in numerous sorts of net purposes, from e-commerce web sites to CRM techniques like HubSpot and Salesforce.

The time period PHP stands for PHP Hypertext Preprocessor. Initially, the “PHP” inside the acronym stood for Private House Web page. However, because the language advanced and caught on, it ended up getting used for extra than simply private house pages. So, that acronym, in flip, grew to become simply the “P” inside PHP.

Under, we’ll take a more in-depth have a look at PHP, the way it works, its relationship with HTML, examples of PHP in motion, and extra.

PHP fundamental features

Inside PHP code working an internet site, variables and ordered and associative arrays could be managed. PHP code additionally handles and validates HTML varieties and executes code loops.

Our PHP courses cowl these features in addition to examples of the sorts of merchandise this code facilitates.

PHP’s relationship to HTML

An enormous a part of PHP’s worth is its use as a dynamic scripting language that works hand-in-hand with HTML.

A PHP interpreter makes an internet site dynamic and customizable, permitting a website to reply to person enter or info in some anticipated method. The interpreter is a key hyperlink between the person and net server, databases, and the related information or responses despatched again to that person.

Ease of use

Regardless of its energy and utility, PHP is without doubt one of the easiest programming languages to learn. It’s easy, has forgiving syntax, and has ample documentation and sources accessible to these studying the language.

PHP’s ease of use has made it a staple for Back-End Engineers and Full-Stack Engineers. It additionally accommodates built-in security measures like knowledge encryption and entry restrictions, eradicating the necessity for separate work to make sure the safety of internet sites. Plus, PHP code typically powers on-line varieties.

Now that you simply’ve bought an concept of what PHP is used for, let’s discover some examples of PHP in motion.

PHP in motion: ScienceSoft

ScienceSoft, a Dallas-based IT consulting and software program growth supplier, affords examples of how they’ve used PHP scripting for shoppers’ initiatives:

Audio equipment shopping

This good, in-store headphone-check digital signage stand makes use of PHP to permit customers to match and distinction a number of fashions. This features a playlist of take a look at tracks, the power to inform the stand’s app what mannequin a buyer needs, and the manufacturing of graphs evaluating fashions for a buyer.

Movie theater chain ticket booking

This European movie show chain modernized its cell ticketing app to incorporate seat plans, notifications, and in-depth details about their films. Utilizing PHP, the app can present clients with a alternative of showtimes, theaters, and seat varieties.

Content for augmented reality advertising displays

This producer of digital interactive promoting and leisure shows for shops and buying malls wanted an administrative panel to create and handle the content material for these screens.

So, they turned to ScienceSoft to create an administrative management that will permit both the show maker or the native retailer or mall person to manage the content material. PHP additionally made it potential to manage the shows remotely utilizing an online software.

Management of a central database of college information

This supplier of a database with info on US schools, admissions, and scholarship particulars labored solely with imports of data from Excel spreadsheets. They wanted a cloud-based info administration resolution to retailer their giant volumes of knowledge, combine with different software program, and automate knowledge reporting to their shoppers.

PHP, amongst different languages and instruments, helped construct this resolution.

PHP in motion: Symfony

Symfony, a French PHP framework supplier, labored on PHP-based initiatives for each enterprise and political entities.

For example, Symfony participated in hackathons that produced security improvements for open-source software utilized by the European Fee.

One other instance of Symfony in motion is Liip, a Swiss digital company, built an API using Symfony PHP for Swiss retailer Migros to prepare and handle knowledge about its merchandise in order that it might be searched and accessed in real-time to handle the retailer’s enterprise.

Upply, a digital platform for freight transportation, used Symfony to build a PHP-based event-driven micro-services architecture so they might effectively deal with huge volumes of transactions required to fulfill person calls for.

PHP in motion: CakePHP

CakePHP is an open-source venture by the Las Vegas-based Cake Software program Basis. CakePHP has worked for a variety of companies in several fields. These embody:

• Southwest Analysis Institute, who used PHP to create modular, full-stack, interactive web-apps so the scientists and engineers engaged on over 50+ spacecraft and devices can see the info most related to them, on demand.
• Web Advertising and marketing Ninjas, who used PHP to construct its advertising and marketing and administration instruments and a central hub for customers.
• World-Architects, who used PHP to construct its profiles of architects and their initiatives, together with on-line visible shows.
• Youngster Care Each day App, who used PHP to construct an app to serve mother and father of kids in San Diego-based daycare facilities.
• Printivo.com, a Nigerian custom-made printing firm, who used PHP for his or her customer-facing web site and inner order administration techniques.

These examples of PHP in motion present what number of areas of commerce, society, and on a regular basis life this programming language touches. It typically performs a key half in designing web sites and working them each day.

Getting Began with PHP

As you possibly can see, PHP is a robust language with a variety of purposes. Nonetheless, one of the best ways to study its utility is to make use of it your self.

When you’re prepared to begin utilizing PHP, take a look at our Learn PHP course. We’ll train you the fundamentals of the language’s syntax together with many different topics like variables, features, loops, and extra.

If you end up caught whereas finishing the course, we additionally supply sources like this article on common mistakes made with PHP conditionals.

This weblog was initially revealed in September 2021, and has been up to date to incorporate new examples of PHP in motion.