What is PHP?

[Slinky]

Hi,

I am new to using PHP for webpages, and I would like to know what's special about PHP, why so many people use it. What advantages does it have over other programs?

[8ta8ta]

PHP (recursive acronym for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor") is a widely-used Open Source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML.


php.net/manual/en/introduction.php

[fab182000]

PHP
PHP is a server-side scripting language that allows your Web site to be truly dynamic. PHP stands for
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (and, yes, we’re aware PHP is a “recursive acronym”—probably meant to
confuse the masses). Its flexibility and relatively small learning curve (especially for programmers who
have a background in C, Java, or Perl) make it one of the most popular scripting languages around.
PHP’s popularity continues to increase as businesses and individuals everywhere embrace it as an
alternative to Microsoft’s ASP language and realize that PHP’s benefits most certainly outweigh the
costs (three cheers for open source!). According to Zend Technologies, Ltd., the central source of PHP
improvements and designers of the Zend Engine, which supports PHP applications, PHP code can now
be found in approximately 9 million Web sites.

[O~Snapple]

The Long and the Short of it is that it executes the Script before going to the browser. it allows you to work with Databases and all sorts of other goodies. Im fairly new to it and i picked it up really quickly.

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor