Variables can store data of different types, and different data types can do different things.
PHP supports the following data types:
With PHP, there are two basic ways to get output: echo and print.
In this tutorial we use echo or print in almost every example. So, this chapter contains a little more info about those two output statements.
echo and print are more or less the same. They are both used to output data to the screen.
The differences are small: echo has no return value while print has a return value of 1 so it can be used in expressions. echo can take multiple parameters (although such usage is rare) while print can take one argument. echo is marginally faster than print. Continue reading PHP echo and print Statements
In PHP, variables can be declared anywhere in the script.
The scope of a variable is the part of the script where the variable can be referenced/used.
PHP has three different variable scopes:
Variables are “containers” for storing information.
In PHP, a variable starts with the $ sign, followed by the name of the variable:
$x = 5; $y = "John";
In the example above, the variable $x will hold the value 5, and the variable $y will hold the value "John".
Note: When you assign a text value to a variable, put quotes around the value.
Note: Unlike other programming languages, PHP has no command for declaring a variable. It is created the moment you first assign a value to it.
Think of variables as containers for storing data.
Multi-line comments start with /* and end with */.
Any text between /* and */ will be ignored.
The following example uses a multi-line comment as an explanation: Continue reading PHP Multiline Comments
A comment in PHP code is a line that is not executed as a part of the program. Its only purpose is to be read by someone who is looking at the code.
Comments can be used to:
PHP supports several ways of commenting: Continue reading PHP Comments
A PHP script is executed on the server, and the plain HTML result is sent back to the browser.
A PHP script can be placed anywhere in the document.
A PHP script starts with <?php and ends with ?>:
<?php // PHP code goes here ?>
The default file extension for PHP files is “.php“.
A PHP file normally contains HTML tags, and some PHP scripting code.
Below, we have an example of a simple PHP file, with a PHP script that uses a built-in PHP function “echo” to output the text “Hello World!” on a web page: Continue reading PHP Syntax
To start using PHP, you can:
If your server has activated support for PHP you do not need to do anything.
Just create some .php files, place them in your web directory, and the server will automatically parse them for you.
You do not need to compile anything or install any extra tools.
Because PHP is free, most web hosts offer PHP support. Continue reading PHP Installation
PHP code is executed on the server.
Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:
If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.
PHP is an amazing and popular language!
It is powerful enough to be at the core of the biggest blogging system on the web (WordPress)!
It is deep enough to run large social networks!
It is also easy enough to be a beginner’s first server side language!
.php“With PHP you are not limited to output HTML. You can output images or PDF files. You can also output any text, such as XHTML and XML.
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