The Advantages of PHP Programming Language for Websites Development

Those who have entered the programming world are surely familiar with the term PHP. But for beginners, you must still be wondering what PHP is. In short, PHP is a programming language that can make websites more dynamic.

In this article, you will find out everything related to the PHP programming language, including an explanation of what PHP is, its functions, basic syntax, and the PHP framework.

Table of Contents

What is PHP Programming Language?

Understanding PHP, PHP is a server-side scripting language, a programming language used to develop static websites or dynamic websites, or Web applications. PHP stands for Hypertext Pre-processor, which was previously called Personal Home Pages.

A script is a collection of commands in programming which are then interpreted at runtime. While the language that interprets the script at runtime is a scripting language. And usually embedded into other software environments.

PHP is a generic programming language that means it can be embedded into HTML code or used in combination with various web template systems, web content management systems, and web frameworks.

The Difference Between Programming Language and Scripting Language

There are differences between programming languages and scripting languages, what are the differences between the two in terms of advantages and disadvantages:

Programming language :

The programming language has all the features needed to build and develop a complete application.
The code must first be compiled before it can be executed.
It doesn’t need to be embedded in another language.

Scripting Language:

Most widely used scripting language for routine tasks
Most of this code is usually executed without compiling
Usually embedded into other software environments.

What is the Function of PHP?

PHP has the main function as one of the many programming languages in the development of static websites or dynamic websites or web applications.

PHP is used to create dynamic websites it can be used to store data into a database, create pages that change according to user input, process forms, etc.

In making PHP files can be merged using HTML tags, And when without using any HTML tags it is called Pure PHP files. The server interprets the PHP code and outputs the result as HTML code to the web browser. For the server to identify the PHP code from the HTML code, we must always include the PHP code in the PHP tags.

PHP Basic Syntax

After knowing what PHP is and its functions, let’s look at the basic syntax used in compiling PHP algorithms and data structures. Each programming language has different writing rules, as well as PHP.

The basic syntax starts with <?php and ends with ?>. Command variables in PHP end with a semicolon symbol;

Here’s an example of writing basic PHP syntax:

[sourcecode lang=”PHP”] <?php

echo "Welcome to Sagara";

?> [/sourcecode]

Here’s an explanation of the code:

<?PHP is a mandatory code to open a PHP program
echo is a command to display the text
“Welcome to Sagara”; is the text to be displayed and written between quotation marks and ending with a semicolon
?> is a code to end a PHP program and is used when combined with other programming languages

Variables are case-sensitive

It should be noted that the command variables in PHP are case-sensitive. That is, the use of uppercase and lowercase letters is very influential on the given output. As an example:

[sourcecode lang=”PHP”] <?PHP

$name = “Sagara”;

echo $name;

>? [/source code]

The above syntax will produce the output: Sagara on the web page. However, if you write it like this:

[sourcecode lang=”PHP”] <?php

$name = “Sagara”;

echo $Name;

>? [/source code]

Then the display will be an error because there is a difference in capital letters in the $Name and $name variables.

If the variables you write have differences, such as capital letters, the display will be an error.

Here are some PHP regulatory variables quoted from FreeCodeCamp:

PHP variables start with the dollar symbol ($)
To assign a value to a PHP variable use the sign ( = )
Variable names can only begin with an uppercase letter, lowercase letter, or the underscore symbol ( _ )
Variable names can only contain letters, numbers, and underscores (A-z, 0-9, and _). Other characters like + – %. & ( ) not applicable.
PHP variables are case-sensitive. Example: $Name and $name are two different variables.
It has predefined system variables that are predefined systemically from PHP, so you shouldn’t create variables with the same name. For example, $GLOBALS , $_SERVER , $_GET , $_POST, $php_errormsg, $http_response_header, $argc, $argv, $this.

Additional comments

In addition, in PHP you can also add comments as code explanations to help in the process of developing a program.

To display comments in PHP, use // or */. That way, comments will not be raised in other words the program code written is not executed by the system.

In PHP, you can add a comment:

One-line comment:

[source code lang=”PHP”] <?php

//this is an example of a one-line comment

echo “Welcome to Sagara”;

?> [/source code]

Multi-line comments:

[source code lang=”PHP”] <?php

// example comments

echo “Welcome to Sagara”;

This is an example of a multi-line comment

written more than 1 line

?> [/source code]

PHP File Extension

It has its extension, and the function of the extension is different so that the server can identify PHP files and scripts. Older PHP files include the extension

.phtml
.php3
.php4
.php5
.phps