Understanding PHP: A Complete Guide for New Developers

So you are looking to learn PHP for web development? As one of the most widely-used languages powering dynamic websites across the internet today, it is a great skill to acquire!

But before you start writing your first lines of code, it is helpful to understand what is PHP, where does it come from and how it can help you build powerful applications. This comprehensive guide aims to provide all the answers!

A Brief History of PHP Through the Ages

PHP has an intriguing history that shapes what the language is today. Let‘s start there!

Way back in 1994, a Danish-Canadian programmer named Rasmus Lerdorf first created a simple set of Perl scripts for tracking visits to his online resume, calling it "Personal Home Page" tools, which became the inspiration for "PHP".

Over the next couple years, PHP rapidly evolved to add more features like form processing, variables, ability to talk to databases. Input from other developers helped expand PHP‘s capabilities exponentially.

By 1997, the language had outgrown its humble beginnings. So Rasmus rewrote it and released PHP 3.0 with an equally quirky recursive name – "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor".

This marked PHP‘s transition from just personal home page scripting to a capable server-side language that could power the modern dynamic web. The chart below illustrates the rapid adoption of PHP driven by its ease of use and functionality.

Unlike C, C++ which predate the web or Java that began in 1991, PHP is among the pioneering languages specifically designed for web development. Its growth trajectory has aligned with the expansion of the internet itself!

How Does PHP Deliver Its Magic?

PHP is a server-side scripting language executed by web servers rather than client-side languages like JavaScript that run in your browser.

Let‘s understand this with an analogy.

Imagine you are at a restaurant. The kitchen where food is prepared represents the server. The waiter who takes your order and serves dishes represents the client browser.

PHP runs on the kitchen server while HTML, CSS and JS is delivered to the client browser waiter.

When a browser requests a dynamic .php page, the PHP processor on the web server interprets any PHP code in that page. Database queries are made, variables are substituted, conditions evaluated dynamically to generate the final HTML sent to you.

For example:

<!-- PHP code -->
<?php
  $name = "James";

  if ($name == "James") {
    echo "Hello James"; 
  }
?>

<!-- HTML code -->
<p> Some static content </p>

The above PHP code interacts with HTML to output customized content.

Key advantages of server-side execution are:

Dynamic content: Personalized output for every user
Improved performance: Code processed on server without reloading pages
Security: Source code not exposed to browser
Save state: Variables and data persisted across sessions
Database integration: Connect and interact with databases easily

This combination of features is what makes PHP extremely versatile for web development.

Real-World Usage of PHP Across Industries

Thanks to its utility and open source nature, PHP sees widespread usage across sectors. Major websites built using PHP include:

Facebook
Wikipedia
Yahoo!
WordPress
Mailchimp

A survey shows percentage usage of PHP across industries:

Industry	Percentage Using PHP
IT services	61%
Healthcare	59%
eCommerce	54%
Media & Publishing	51%

As visible, over 50% usage indicates PHP remains a highly popular choice for custom web development.

Common application types where PHP delivers great value are:

Custom CMS systems
eCommerce stores and marketplaces
Social networking platforms
Real estate portals
Education portal and LMS
Crowdfunding platforms

Ready to learn how you too can start leveraging PHP?

Let‘s look at some recommendations.

Choosing Your Perfect PHP Framework

As a popular language, PHP comes with numerous frameworks that make development even easier. Think of frameworks as prepackaged code libraries so you don‘t have to write common functionality from scratch.

Some popular PHP frameworks are:

1. Laravel

High performance, elegant syntax
Good for large enterprise applications
Steeper learning curve

2. CakePHP

Rapid application development
Follows coding conventions for easier maintenance
Limited third-party libraries

3. Symfony

Very flexible architecture
Great documentation and community
Complex modular structure

I recommend Laravel as a great framework for newer developers owing to its simplicity and web focus.

However evaluate options based on the needs of your web application before choosing.

Learning Guide: How Should You Start with PHP?

While PHP is easy to learn, here is a structured path I recommend to master it smoothly:

Step 1: Install PHP and Apache Environment

Being a server-side language, PHP needs to be run on a web server like Apache using a suitable environment like XAMPP/WAMP. This downloadable package bundles all you need for local PHP testing.