What is PHP used for in web development?

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a popular open-source script that is used for web development, mostly on the server side. That is why it enables developers to generate dynamic content, work with databases, and perform numerous server-side operations. This technology was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in the year 1993 and has many times over the years bug fixed. Today, it is among the basic tools for web application development and is used as a base for many content management systems such as WordPress, Joomla and many others.

What is PHP for Web Development?

PHP is a scripting language on the server that is written in HTML. However, it works on the server and produces HTML materials that the client’s web browser can display. While languages like JavaScript work on the client side, PHP processes information on the server, which gives it a great working methodology to perform tasks like dealing with forms, user authentication and other related databases.
It is coupled with many web server modules such as Apache and Nginx and can recognize different database systems, especially MySQL. It is used frequently and complements deeply HTML and CSS due to its flexibility.

Why is PHP Used for Web Development?

PHP is also famous for website development because of its flexibility, ease of understanding, and power compared to other languages. It is an open-source language and, therefore, can be used freely by anyone, including small-scale developers as well as big commercial houses. Due to the platform’s independence, PHP can run on almost any OS, including Windows, Linux and Mac OS. It has a huge user base and offers many help, materials, libraries and scaffolds such as Laravel and Symfony. PHP is strong in database handling, particularly MySQL, due to the ease of organizing, creating, reading, updating, and erasing data. It also has multi-security features that can guard applications against threats such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF). Also, with the help of WordPress and Composer, PHP makes the development process incredibly fast. It leaves no problem with the projects’ organization during the work, which explains why it is efficient for creating dynamic internet sites and web applications.

PHP-based Tools Used for Web Development

WordPress

WordPress is the most widely used dot CMS based on PHP, and it allows people to construct the necessary blogs and websites without profound coding skills.

Laravel

It is a PHP-focused framework with a clean and perfect syntax to help developers create sound applications.

Symfony

A high-performance PHP framework featuring the MVC pattern perfect for large application development.

CodeIgniter

Alight and simple PHP framework for rapid application development with little to no setting to adjust.

Composer

Composers are special for PHP and are used to manage the libraries and packages of applications.

Top PHP IDEs for Web Development

The choice of the most suitable Integrated Development Environment (IDE) will undoubtedly increase efficiency in PHP development. Here are some of the top PHP IDEs:

PHPStorm

A reliable business perspective Integrated Development Environment enriched with code editor characteristics, including code suggestions, the ability to place a breakpoint, and connections with version control systems.

Visual Studio Code

A web-based and open-source textual editor that supports PHP only through extensions with special syntax highlighting and debugging features.

NetBeans

A powerful tool for PHP development integrated development environment free to users with functionalities such as templates, project planning, and debugging.

Eclipse PDT

A generally popular free family of programs with a strong PDT add-in for PHP programming and examination.

Sublime Text

A lightweight and extensible text editor for code with the potential of PHP using the plugins.

Best Practices for Using PHP Web Development

Use Prepared Statements

Prepared statements are used to process data from a database. In this way, SQL injection can easily be avoided.

Error Reporting

Allow error reporting during the development stage to confront errors and warning messages during the application development. Use error_reporting(E_ALL) in your PHP scripts at the beginning of your script.

Keep Code Organized

Use a predefined style when writing your Code and group its sections under classes and functions to make it easy to manage.

Version Control

Use version control systems to control code changes and unite the entire team of developers.

Keep PHP Updated

You should do this by updating your PHP version frequently to enjoy security posture and additional features.

Security Measures

Follow such standards as input validation, output escaping, and security audits, which must be done on the application regularly.

Comment Your Code

Use comments to describe coherent sections of Code, making it easier for others to comprehend later.

PHP Basics for Web Development

Even though it is commonly used, one must gain basic knowledge regarding development. Here are some fundamental concepts:

Variables

PHP variables are denoted by $symbol. Example: $name = “John”;

Data Types

The main data types that the PHP supports include String, Integer, Float, Array and Object data type.

Control Structures

PHP employs shift operators, conditional operators (if-else), and conditional-repeating structures (switch, for, while etc.).

Form Handling

PHP can handle form data in GET or POST form. We use $_GET and $_POST for form data.

Comparison Table with Other Languages

Feature	PHP	JavaScript	Python	Ruby	Java
Type	Server-side Scripting Language	Client-side & Server-side	General-purpose	General-purpose	General-purpose
Primary Use Case	Web Development (Backend)	Web Interactivity (Frontend & Backend with Node.js)	Web apps, Data Science, AI	Web Development (via Ruby on Rails)	Enterprise Web Apps, Android Development
Ease of Learning	Easy to Learn	Moderate	Easy to Learn	Moderate	Complex
Perform- ance	Good for small-medium apps	Fast on Client-side, moderate on Server-side	Moderate	Moderate	High Performance (for large systems)
Frameworks	Laravel, Symfony, CodeIgniter	React, Angular, Node.js	Django, Flask	Ruby on Rails	Spring, Hibernate

Your clients’ opinions also help establish whether a given company is credible. Customer relations, quality, on-time services, and the extent to which the company delivers services beyond expectations should have many positive remarks. If the previous applicants were satisfied with the company’s performance, you can also expect a pleasant outcome for your project.

Clients always have positive remarks about Dextersol regarding our friendly services and willingness to do great work. These entrants are proof of our commitment to going the extra mile to satisfy our clients. All our clients, ranging from small business startups to big companies, hire us for Web design services, expecting us to deliver their projects on time and at a reasonable cost.

Statistical comparison table

Here’s a comparison table by techronus (website) that display percentages of websites using various server-side programming languages in comparison with PHP.

Programming Language	Percentage of Websites
PHP	77.4%
ASP.NET	7.8%
RUBY	5.9%
JAVA	4.0%
SCALA	2.7%
JAVASCRIPT	2.7%
STATIC FILES	1.7%
PYTHON	1,3%
COLDFUSION	0.3%
PERL	0.1%
ERLANG	0.1%

Conclusion

PHP is still one of the mainstays of web development due to its flexibility, power, and relatively simple implementation. PHP is used to create basic websites and construct more complicated web applications, meaning knowing PHP might improve one’s work as a developer. As a result, PHP offers improved application performance. It becomes closer to modern web standards and responds well to modern application requirements by recognizing its features, using PHP frameworks, and keeping to the best practices for the PHP frameworks.

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