Web Development Beginner

What is PHP?

A widely-used server-side scripting language designed for web development that powers over 75% of websites including WordPress.

PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) runs on the server, generating dynamic HTML pages. It integrates seamlessly with databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL), web servers (Apache, Nginx via PHP-FPM), and supports object-oriented and procedural programming.

Modern PHP (8.x) includes type declarations, named arguments, fibers, enums, and match expressions. Popular frameworks include Laravel, Symfony, and WordPress. PHP excels at web applications, CMSs, and e-commerce platforms.

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Related Terms

An automatic OPTIONS request sent by browsers before certain cross-origin requests to check if the actual request is permitted.

SPA (Single Page Application)

A web application that loads a single HTML page and dynamically updates content without full page reloads.

API (Application Programming Interface)

A set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and exchange data.

Static Site Generator (SSG)

A tool that generates a complete static HTML website from templates and content at build time, requiring no server-side processing.

The second major version of HTTP that improves performance through multiplexing, header compression, and server push.

DOM (Document Object Model)

A programming interface for HTML documents that represents the page structure as a tree of objects that can be manipulated with JavaScript.

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