Lesson 1.1: What Makes PHP Tick?

Welcome to PHP Development

Let's address the elephant in the room. You've probably heard PHP jokes. "PHP is terrible!" they say. Here's the truth: PHP runs Facebook, WordPress, Slack, and countless other massive platforms. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for us.

PHP started messy in 1995. Rasmus Lerdorf just wanted to track visits to his online resume. He never intended to create a programming language. Yet here we are, with PHP powering roughly 79% of all websites whose server-side language we can identify.

Modern PHP looks nothing like its ancestors. PHP 8 brings incredible features: JIT compilation, union types, attributes, named arguments. It's fast, elegant, and genuinely enjoyable to write. Anyone still mocking PHP probably hasn't touched it since 2010.

Understanding PHP's Role

Think of web development like a restaurant:

Your browser never sees PHP code. Instead, PHP runs on the server, generates HTML, then sends that HTML to browsers. It's the invisible chef preparing your web pages.

Here's a quick example showing this relationship:

<?php
$currentHour = date('H');
$greeting = $currentHour < 12 ? 'Good morning' : 'Good afternoon';
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
    <h1><?php echo $greeting; ?>, visitor!</h1>
</body>
</html>

The server processes this PHP, then sends only HTML to your browser:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <body>
    <h1>Good morning, visitor!</h1>
  </body>
</html>

See? The browser never knows PHP was involved. Magic happens server-side.

Why Choose PHP in 2025?

Speed of Development: PHP lets you build features rapidly. No compilation step. No complex build tools. Save your file, refresh your browser, see changes instantly. This tight feedback loop accelerates learning.

Mature Ecosystem: Packagist hosts over 350,000 packages. Need payment processing? Image manipulation? PDF generation? Someone's already built a stellar solution. You're standing on the shoulders of giants.

Job Market: Companies desperately need PHP developers. WordPress alone powers 43% of all websites. Laravel continues growing exponentially. Legacy systems need maintenance. Startups choose PHP for rapid prototyping. Your skills will stay relevant.

Low Barrier to Entry: Unlike some languages requiring complex setup, PHP welcomes beginners. Most web hosts support PHP out-of-the-box. You can start learning immediately without wrestling with configurations.

PHP vs Other Languages

Let's compare honestly:

FeaturePHPPythonNodeRuby
Learning CurveGentleGentleModerateModerate
Web FocusBuilt for webGeneral purposeOriginally frontendWeb-friendly
Hosting OptionsEverywhereGrowingGrowingLimited
PerformanceExcellent (PHP 8+)GoodExcellentModerate
Job OpportunitiesAbundantAbundantAbundantDeclining

Each language has strengths. Python excels at data science. JavaScript enables full-stack development with one language. Ruby offers elegant syntax. But PHP? It's purpose-built for web development and does that job brilliantly.

Modern PHP Features

Today's PHP includes features that rival any modern language:

Type Declarations: Define exactly what your functions expect and return.

function calculateTax(float $amount, float $rate): float {
    return $amount * $rate;
}

Null Coalescing: Handle missing values elegantly.

$username = $_GET['user'] ?? 'guest';

Arrow Functions: Write concise, functional code.

$numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
$doubled = array_map(fn($n) => $n * 2, $numbers);

Attributes: Add metadata to your code (like decorators in other languages).

#[Route('/api/users', methods: ['GET'])]
public function getUsers() {
    // Handle request
}

These examples barely scratch the surface. PHP 8 introduced union types, named arguments, match expressions, and the JIT compiler. Performance improved dramatically. The language keeps evolving.

Common Misconceptions

"PHP is slow": PHP 8's JIT compiler delivers impressive performance. Facebook wouldn't use a slow language. Most "performance issues" come from bad code, not the language itself.

"PHP is insecure": No language is inherently secure or insecure. PHP provides excellent security tools: password hashing functions, prepared statements, CSRF token generators. Insecure code comes from uninformed developers, not the language.

"PHP is dying": Check the statistics. PHP usage remains steady. Major frameworks keep releasing updates. Companies keep hiring. The "PHP is dying" crowd has been wrong for two decades.

"Real programmers don't use PHP": Tell that to the engineers at Facebook, Wikipedia, Etsy, Slack, and countless other tech companies. They seem pretty real to me.

What You'll Build

Throughout this course, you'll create:

More importantly, you'll understand why things work. Anyone can copy-paste code. You'll write it from scratch, break it, fix it, and truly comprehend each piece.

Server-Side vs Client-Side

This concept confuses beginners, so let's clarify:

Client-Side (Browser):

Server-Side (Your Server):

PHP lives server-side. It processes requests, talks to databases, sends emails, generates PDFs - tasks you wouldn't want happening in browsers where users could tamper with code.

The PHP Workflow

Understanding the request-response cycle helps everything click:

  1. User visits www.example.com/profile.php
  2. Web server receives this request
  3. Server finds profile.php file
  4. PHP interpreter executes the code
  5. PHP might query a database, read files, perform calculations
  6. PHP generates HTML output
  7. Server sends HTML back to browser
  8. Browser renders the page

This happens in milliseconds. Users just see their profile page appear. They don't know PHP fetched their data from MySQL, resized their profile photo, and calculated their account age.

PHP File Structure

PHP files typically use the .php extension. They can contain:

Here's a typical structure:

<?php
// PHP logic at the top
$pageTitle = "Welcome";
$userLoggedIn = checkUserSession();
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title><?php echo $pageTitle; ?></title>
</head>
<body>
    <?php if ($userLoggedIn): ?>
        <h1>Welcome back!</h1>
    <?php else: ?>
        <h1>Please log in</h1>
    <?php endif; ?>
</body>
</html>

Notice how PHP and HTML interweave? This flexibility makes PHP perfect for web development. You're not fighting the language to output HTML.

When PHP Shines

PHP excels at:

Basically, if it involves server-side web logic, PHP handles it beautifully.

Your Learning Path

Here's what's ahead:

  1. Setup (Next lesson): Install PHP, choose an editor, run your first script
  2. Fundamentals: Variables, functions, control structures
  3. Practical Skills: Forms, files, sessions, databases
  4. Advanced Topics: OOP, security, performance
  5. Real Projects: Build actual applications

Each lesson builds on previous ones. Don't skip around initially. Master basics before attempting advanced concepts.

Community and Resources

The PHP community welcomes newcomers. Helpful resources include:

Don't hesitate to ask questions. Everyone started as a beginner. The community remembers that.

Setting Expectations

Learning PHP (or any programming language) requires patience. Your first scripts will be simple. That's perfect! Every expert wrote terrible code initially. The difference? They kept writing.

Expect frustration. Syntax errors, logic bugs, cryptic error messages - they're part of the journey. Each error teaches you something. Embrace debugging as learning, not failure.

Within weeks, you'll build functional web pages. Within months, complete applications. Within a year? You could be working professionally. The timeline depends on your dedication.

Why This Course Is Different

Many PHP tutorials teach outdated practices. They show mysql_query() (removed in PHP 7). They ignore security. They promote bad habits that take years to unlearn.

We're different. From day one, you'll write modern, secure, maintainable code. You'll use:

You're not just learning PHP. You're learning professional PHP development.

Summary

PHP powers the web. Despite critics, it keeps growing, evolving, and improving. Modern PHP offers everything you need for web development: speed, security, simplicity, and a massive ecosystem.

You're starting an exciting journey. In the next lesson, we'll set up your development environment and write your first PHP script. Get ready to see "Hello, World!" in your browser - created by code you wrote.

Remember: every PHP developer started exactly where you are now. The only difference between beginners and experts? Experts didn't quit.

Ready to install PHP and start coding? Let's dive into Lesson 1.2!

Quick Quiz

Test your understanding:

  1. Where does PHP code execute - on the server or in the browser?
  2. What percentage of known server-side websites use PHP?
  3. Name three major platforms built with PHP.
  4. What does PHP stand for? (Hint: It's recursive!)
  5. Can browsers see your PHP source code?

Answers: 1) Server, 2) ~79%, 3) Facebook/WordPress/Wikipedia (among others), 4) PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, 5) No - browsers only see the generated HTML