Mr. Merlis' Introduction to PHP

In the fall of 2002 I created a running club aimed at bringing together people who would meet through the club's website. To do this, we would have a members page where people would login and be able to find others. I wanted to somehow have people save when they could run (for each day of the week the times that were best for them) as well as the range of how far they like to run and the range for the pace at which they typically run. When I began the webpage for the Albany Running Exchange, I only knew HTML and had never heard of PHP, mySQL, or any other helpful scripting language for that matter. I didn't even know Javascript.

To create a members page, I needed a place to store all the information about the members once they joined. I was able to use mySQL, which is a database language essentially similar to storing everything in a program such as Microsoft Excel. The issue of connecting the backend database with HTML, however, was another issue. One example of the power of PHP is just this: to connect otherwise static HTML pages with the power to be dynamic by using a scripting language.

So just what is PHP?

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/internet_technologies/php.htm defines PHP as follows:
The PHP Hypertext Preprocessor is a programming language that allows web developers to create dynamic content that interacts with databases. PHP is basically used for developing web based software applications.

In other words, PHP is incredibly powerful, relatively easy to learn, and will give you the power to truly build impressive websites that can "do things" and not just take up space in the infinite galaxy of webpages.

What do we need to use PHP?

Good question! You have to make sure that the web server is running PHP. Unfortunately our school servers don't, but the computers you are on do! It is running PHP, so your pages will work properly and not just print out the PHP code. Therefore all of your PHP files must be saved to the web server and not your school server.

Click here to begin your PHP programming journey