PHP what are it's uses

[valhalla_rk]

Hi,

i started learning the PHP, and find out that it is very similar to C than any other language,

now my question is, why do you need it on the web?

i know that is really a dumb question,

but the web programming is like a blank page for me.

thanks in advance.

[amrinders87]

It can be used to generate content on the fly, like pulling stuff from a databse, processing user input in forms.

[CeruleanCowboy]

allows you to work with databases, keep information organized, analyze that information, perform repetitious tasks with the same sort of elements, update one file and have those effects seen on every other page related to it, etc. it's incredibly powerful and definitely recommended, especially now.

[Skov]

It's used for dynamic page generation (even though it can be used to create images, flash, etc) :)

So it can be used for polls, forums (like this one), guestbooks, content management sites and so on.

[eltomo]

For one thing this forum is powered by php.

[theh0g]

Without it, you'd have static websites. With PHP, you can make pages totaly dynamic, you can make CMS so users can change content, change structure of pages, ... basicaly, you can make a framework, where you can control every detail on website through administrative pages. You can also create images (put text on pictures, combine pictures, make shadows, ...) or you can resize them if you suddenly change your mind about images' sizes, so you don't have to reload everything. You can make Flash animations (well, if you have way too much time), ... Practitaly, you can do almost everything with PHP, even standalone applications for Windows/Linux etc.

Bottom line: if you do your planning well, it's amazing what you can do with it. But do make sure you use objects :)

[rob2090]

dynamic content, almost anything, from news writing (you don't want to fiddle in Dreamweaver or html editors all day) to pdf generation (and not only) you can automate web related things, i.e: shops, forums, etc...

just don't plan to make an OS out of it :p

[LiDo884]

You can even make shell scripts with it (CLI) or interface programs (PHP-GTK).

Regards.

[valhalla_rk]

nice, i didn't know :)

i didn't get to the object (C++ like?) part, sounds interesting.

is it hard to integrate it to the webpage design (since the basic design is still HTML, right?)?

and i understood that you need to know SQL in a good level in order to make something out of PHP, is it correct also?

again many thanks :p

[amrinders87]

  valhalla_rk said:

nice, i didn't know :)

i didn't get to the object (C++ like?) part, sounds interesting.

is it hard to integrate it to the webpage design (since the basic design is still HTML, right?)?

and i understood that you need to know SQL in a good level in order to make something out of PHP, is it correct also?

again many thanks :p

586521172[/snapback]

Its easy to integrate it to your html code because it outputs to html so the clients browser can understand it.

SQL is very easy to learn.

Go to http://www.w3schools.com/ and they have some nice tutorials on php and SQL.

[Skov]

  valhalla_rk said:

is it hard to integrate it to the webpage design (since the basic design is still HTML, right?)?

Since PHP isn't a language the browser reads, it will not inflict with the design what so ever (unless the same version in HTML would).

It is very easy to integrate it too, you simply smack in your <?php and ?> tags and start coding away! :)

  Quote

and i understood that you need to know SQL in a good level in order to make something out of PHP, is it correct also?

You can work without any databases in PHP, but it's not really fun, so learning (My)SQL would be a good idea ;)

  Quote

again many thanks :p

You're welcome :)

[theh0g]

As for design goes, you can use Smarty, the template class. It's really easy, so you don't have to type any HTML code in your code. Actually, this you should know from the beginning: NEVER hardcode any HTML in it. Just a friendly advice :)

Now we've given you all the info you need to start, go download a good IDE (I strongly suggest Eclipse) and start coding :)

[amrinders87]

That Smaryt template class looks cool. Thanks.

[theh0g]

Yeah, I've been reading about it, but just recently tried it and included it into my framework, now everything in run through it. It really saves you a lot of time.

[dnast]

I've been too lazy to try it, but it has always sounded great. I know I'll hate it if my next design consists of more than changing graphics and CSS file. I'm also worried about performance issues, but I guess I'll just have to do more research on it.