Basic PHP Programming

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Why not exhibit some output onto the screen? It is in truth much easier to achieve with PHP. All you have to do is use PHP language construct called echo and we are done. Here’s how..
Open a blank new file in your editor or notepad and write the below talk about lines in the file. Then save the file with a .php extension. If you are using notepad as editor then be careful about the file extension. In Windows OS the file extensions are often hidden, so you must ensure that file saved has a .php extension.
If that is the exact output on your browser, then it is a success!!! We are on a good start. If you did not see this output, then perhaps PHP was not installed or configured properly. Note that if the PHP file is prompted to be downloaded in your browser, then PHP is not installed or configured properly as the file with .php extension is not being parsed. Please refer to your installation procedure.

Just so you’ll be aware of the different versions of PHP. This post features older versions:

Version 4.1.0 introduced the superglobal arrays. Because of this, there are scripts written in superglobals that will not run in versions prior to this particular version. If you’re using older versions of PHP, then you must use old style arrays such as the $HTTP_POST_VARS.

Version 4.2.0 is a little more complicated. This version of PHP changed the default setting for register_globals to Off. There are scripts developed under previous versions that depend on register_globals that are set to On. These particular scripts may stop running with the 4.2.0 setting. To solve this, change the coding of the scripts so that they can run with this version.

Important improvements were made to the CU version of PHP in Version 4.3.0. The CU is built automatically by default when the PHP is complied from source code. If one wishes for it not to be built, then it must be disabled with installation options.

Version 4.3.1 features a security fix to problems in 4.3.0.

More to come…