AN INTRODUCTION TO PHP

Here we will introduce you to PHP. You will learn how it came about, what it looks like, and why it is the best server-side technology. You will also be exposed to the most important features of the language.

PHP began as a simple macro replacement tool. Like a nice pair of shoes, it got you where you needed to go, but you could go only so far. On the hyperspeed development track of the Internet, PHP has become the equivalent of a 1960s muscle car. It's cheap, it's fast, and there's plenty of room under the hood for you and your virtual wrench.

You probably don't need convincing that whether it's Internet, intranet, or extranet, the Web is no longer about plain HTML files. Web pages are being replaced with Web applications. The issue many Web engineers face is choosing among hundreds of technologies.

PHP is somewhat famous for interfacing with many different database systems, but it also has support for other external systems. Support comes in the form of modules called extensions. They either compile directly into PHP or are loaded dynamically. New extensions are added to the PHP project regularly. The extensions expose groups of functions for using these external systems. As said, some of these are databases. PHP offers functions for talking natively with most popular database systems, as well as providing access to ODBC drivers. Other extensions give you the ability to send messages using a particular network protocol, such as LDAP or IMAP.

Aspell is a system for checking spelling. An extension provides support for numbers of arbitrary precision. There is an extension for dealing with various calendar systems. An extension provides support for DBM-style databases. You can read from filePro databases. You can interact with Hyperwave. You can use the ICAP,IMAP,and LDAP protocols. The Interbase and Informix databases are supported natively,as are mSQL,Mysql,MS SQL,Sybase, Oracle,and Postgres. You can also parse XML or create WDDX packets.