At some point every amateur web entrepreneur considers learning how to program in a language beyond the simplicities of HTML. While HTML and Cascading Style Sheets can help a person create beautiful static web page designs, the only way to achieve truly dynamic web sites is to use a programming language that adds additional capabilities to the web page. One of the most common web programming languages (and perhaps the easiest to learn as well) is known as PHP.
What is PHP?
PHP is a computer language that was designed specifically for use in web pages. It is fairly simple to learn and uses conventions that are easily grasped for the most basic functions. When used at its most basic level PHP can allow a user to do simple math problems or change the wording of a page based on a variable such as what time of day it is. At its most complex PHP drives some of the most complicated content management systems currently being used on thousands of sites all over the world.
What Can PHP Do For A Web Page?
Imagine designing a web site where users can compare the prices between two different online retailers. A static, traditional HTML web page would have to be updated almost daily as the prices on the two sites change. With PHP, a special piece of code could be inserted into the web page that would automatically go out and get that price each time the page was refreshed. Changes would be instant and once the prices were in the computer's memory they can be manipulated in other ways. Sales tax can be added. Shipping charges can be applied. These and many other things can be done with data that is stored inside little placeholders known as "variables" inside the PHP code.
The true power of PHP emerges when one incorporates PHP together with a web based database system. Using a database together with PHP a complete product listing can be created, allowing a site owner to sell products directly from their own web site rather than having to link off to another as was done in the previous example. Database systems such as MySQL are free and can be set up by anyone with access to a web server, a moderate amount of time, and a passion for learning a little bit of system syntax.
What is PHP?
PHP is a computer language that was designed specifically for use in web pages. It is fairly simple to learn and uses conventions that are easily grasped for the most basic functions. When used at its most basic level PHP can allow a user to do simple math problems or change the wording of a page based on a variable such as what time of day it is. At its most complex PHP drives some of the most complicated content management systems currently being used on thousands of sites all over the world.
What Can PHP Do For A Web Page?
Imagine designing a web site where users can compare the prices between two different online retailers. A static, traditional HTML web page would have to be updated almost daily as the prices on the two sites change. With PHP, a special piece of code could be inserted into the web page that would automatically go out and get that price each time the page was refreshed. Changes would be instant and once the prices were in the computer's memory they can be manipulated in other ways. Sales tax can be added. Shipping charges can be applied. These and many other things can be done with data that is stored inside little placeholders known as "variables" inside the PHP code.
The true power of PHP emerges when one incorporates PHP together with a web based database system. Using a database together with PHP a complete product listing can be created, allowing a site owner to sell products directly from their own web site rather than having to link off to another as was done in the previous example. Database systems such as MySQL are free and can be set up by anyone with access to a web server, a moderate amount of time, and a passion for learning a little bit of system syntax.
