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From the
PHP website website:
PHP is a server-side, cross-platform, HTML embedded scripting
language. PHP is a scripting language like Perl, Python or Tcl. It is
the
most popular module for Apache and this is due to a variety
of reasons:
- Learning curve is quite low
- Great documentation
- Extensive database support
- Modularity
PHP has a modular design. There are modules that provide support for:
- Database connetivity for Oracle, ODBC, mySQL, mSQL, PostgreSQL,
MS-SQL server... and many more, check the
PHP website.
- XML support
- File transfer: FTP
- HTTP
- Directory support: LDAP
- Mail support: IMAP, POP3, NNTP
- PDF document generation
- CORBA
and many more. You only need to compile/use the modules you need.
PHP can be used with Apache, as an external CGI or with other webservers.
It is crossplatform and it runs on most flavors of Unix and Windows.
If you come from a Windows background, you probably have used Internet
Information Server with Active Server Pages and MS-SQL Server. A common
replacement in the Unix world for this trio is Apache with PHP and mySQL.
Since PHP works:
- with Apache and with Microsoft IIS
- with mySQL and with MS-SQL server
- on Unix an on Windows
you have a nice migration path from a Microsoft-centric solution to more
secure, stable, high performance Unix based solutions (like
FreeBSD,
Solaris,
Linux or
OpenBSD)
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