A PHP file may contain text, HTML tags and scripts. Scripts in a PHP file are executed on the server.

What you should already know

Before you continue you should have some basic understanding of the following:

• WWW, HTML and the basics of building Web pages
• Some scripting knowledge

What is PHP?

• PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
• PHP is a server-side scripting language, like ASP
• PHP scripts are executed on the server
• PHP supports many databases (MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC, etc.)
• PHP is an open source software (OSS)
• PHP is free to download and use

What is a PHP File?

• PHP files may contain text, HTML tags and scripts
• PHP files are returned to the browser as plain HTML 
• PHP files have a file extension of ".php", ".php3", or ".phtml"

What is MySQL?

• MySQL is a small database server
• MySQL is ideal for small and medium applications
• MySQL supports standard SQL
• MySQL compiles on a number of platforms
• MySQL is free to download and use

PHP + MySQL

• PHP combined with MySQL are cross-platform (means that you can develop in Windows and serve on a Unix platform)

Why PHP?

• PHP runs on different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.)
• PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
• PHP is FREE to download from the official PHP resource: www.php.net
• PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side

Where to Start?

• Install an Apache server on a Windows or Linux machine
• Install PHP on a Windows or Linux machine
• Install MySQL on a Windows or Linux machine