PHP for Beginners

PHP 🐘 for beginners.

PHP is a programming language for
- Web Applications:
- CMS Development
- Backend APIs
- Data Manipulationons
- Frameworks: for example, Laravel

If you are curious about this programming language,

this thread is for you:

↓ pic.twitter.com/48PY7pPCJV

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Before we start, here is a video I made about PHP and Rest API

In this video, we will build a PHP CRUD Rest API using:
- Laravel
- Composer
- Postgres
- Docker
- Docker Composehttps://t.co/ztncZSSvRV

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

PHP was originally an abbreviation of Personal Home Page.

It now stands for the recursive initialism PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.

It's used primarily for web development to create dynamic content.

It's an embedded language that can be inserted directly into HTML code.

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

A first example

Here's an example of a simple PHP script.

The following code, when placed in an HTML file, displays the current date and time: pic.twitter.com/Nu0f1EybT3

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

A flexible language

PHP is known for its ease of use & flexibility.

Variables in PHP are declared using a dollar sign ($) followed by the variable's name.

The variable type is set automatically based on the value it's given.

Example: pic.twitter.com/emUTc9yDT1

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Libraries

PHP has a vast standard library with built-in functions for working with
- files
- images
- XML
- databases

And much more.

It's one of the reasons PHP is so powerful for web development.

Let's see some examples below.

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

File Handling

PHP has several built-in functions for working with files.

Here's an example that reads a file and prints its contents: pic.twitter.com/2zCKw09mq9

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Image Manipulation

PHP's GD library allows you to manipulate images.

Here's a simple example that resizes an image: pic.twitter.com/CQaFLuxLcS

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

XML Parsing

PHP's SimpleXML extension enables you to manipulate XML.

Here's a simple example that parses XML: pic.twitter.com/5nFqpG1g7V

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Database Interaction

PHP's PDO extension allows you to interact with databases.

Here's an example that retrieves data from a MySQL database: pic.twitter.com/fIdx3clOJz

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Array manipulation

We often work with arrays - ordered maps that associate values to keys in PHP.

This is a fundamental part of any programming language, and PHP provides many built-in functions to manipulate these structures.

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

For instance, you can sort an array in ascending order.

The sort() function is perfect for this task: pic.twitter.com/mIWyuRED9m

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Laravel

One popular PHP framework is Laravel, known for its elegant syntax.

It comes with various features like
- MVC architecture
- ORM
- routing
- caching
- authentication,

making it a full-stack framework.

Here's a simple Laravel route that returns a view: pic.twitter.com/Ogdp6VFJ5Q

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

PHP use cases

Here are five use-cases for PHP:

- Content Management Systems
- E-commerce Websites
- Social Networking Platforms
- Web-based Software
- Online Communities and Forums

Code examples below.

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Content Management Systems (CMS)

PHP powers popular CMSs like WordPress, allowing non-technical users to easily create and manage websites.

Here's a simple PHP code for a custom WordPress shortcode that would display the current year: pic.twitter.com/bYnPKbRzzU

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

E-commerce Websites

PHP is often used to develop e-commerce platforms (like Magento), providing features like product management, shopping carts, and secure payment processing.

An example below: pic.twitter.com/64TRTo4drn

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Social Networking Platforms

PHP can handle large amounts of data and user interaction, making it perfect for social networking sites. A notable example is Facebook, which was initially built in PHP.

An elementary example: pic.twitter.com/CH7SQcKbYD

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Web-based Software

PHP is used to create various web-based software like customer relationship management (CRM) systems, project management tools, and more. pic.twitter.com/nQHOVqToTB

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Online Communities and Forums

PHP can handle user registrations, content posting, comment threads, and more, making it an excellent choice for online communities and forums. pic.twitter.com/83lPGM9DrY

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023

Conclusion

Despite the feeling on Social Media, PHP is a widely used language, and learning it might be a good choice if you want to become a developer.

Also, using a framework like Laravel and Docker might be worth speeding up the development process.

Best of luck.

— Francesco (@FrancescoCiull4) June 28, 2023