PHP / Mysql

What is PHP?

PHP, which stands for "Hypertext Preprocessor", is a server-side, HTML embedded #1 scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages. Much of its syntax is borrowed from C, Java and Perl with some unique features thrown in. The goal of the language is to allow Web developers to write dynamically generated pages quickly.

In an HTML page, PHP code is enclosed within special PHP tags. When a visitor opens the page, the server processes the PHP code and then sends the output (not the PHP code itself) to the visitor's browser. It means that, unlike JavaScript, you don't have to worry that someone can steal your PHP script.

PHP offers excellent connectivity to many databases including MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, PostgreSQL, and Generic ODBC. The popular PHP-MySQL combination (both are open-source products) is available on almost every UNIX host. Being web-oriented, PHP also contains all the functions to do things on the Internet - connecting to remote servers, checking email via POP3 or IMAP, url encoding, setting cookies, redirecting, etc.

Features of PHP

The core features of PHP are built around the ability to process strings and arrays, as well as to work as an object-oriented programming language. Beyond this most of PHP is a collection of modules that can be added in on the server as needed to perform a large variety of specific tasks. In other words, it is a highly customizable application, and you can keept it small by only installing as much as you need to perform required tasks.

What is MySQL?

MySQL, the most popular Open Source SQL database management system, is developed, distributed, and supported by MySQL AB. MySQL AB is a commercial company, founded by the MySQL developers. It is a second generation Open Source company that unites Open Source values and methodology with a successful business model.

Features of MySQL

  • MySQL is a database management system.
  • MySQL is a relational database management system.
  • MySQL software is Open Source.
  • The MySQL Database Server is very fast, reliable, and easy to use.
  • MySQL Server works in client/server or embedded systems.
  • A large amount of contributed MySQL software is available.

Uses of MySQL

MySQL is popular for web applications and acts as the database component of the LAMP, BAMP, MAMP, and WAMP platforms (Linux/BSD/Mac/Windows-Apache-MySQL-PHP/Perl/Python), and for open-source bug tracking tools like Bugzilla. Its popularity for use with web applications is closely tied to the popularity of PHP and Ruby on Rails, which are often combined with MySQL. PHP and MySQL are essential components for running popular content management systems such as Joomla!, e107, WordPress, Drupal, and some BitTorrent trackers. Wikipedia runs on MediaWiki software, which is written in PHP and uses a MySQL database.