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PHP Lessons (textbook, self-study)

16/04/2025, by Ivan

Why Create Yet Another PHP Tutorial?

I haven't yet come across a truly simple and gradual tutorial for complete beginners that explains PHP from the very basics. Most tutorials assume you already know what a function, recursion, variable, or data type is—as if everyone has C++, Pascal, or Basic ingrained in their memory.

But here, I’m offering a tutorial that starts with explaining the concepts using real-life examples. Only after building a strong foundation will we move on to more complex topics. While this tutorial might not aim for complete comprehensiveness, it will be structured so that absolutely anyone—even someone with zero programming experience—can learn PHP. And by the end, we might even build our own CMS, our own little "bike" from scratch.

This guide will help you quickly master the PHP language.

Important and complex topics are presented here in a simplified manner, focusing on core concepts that every developer needs to write real-world applications in PHP. The examples and exercises are effective and practical, helping you absorb the material faster. The main focus is on practical PHP programming skills and technologies that can solve nearly any real-world task.

This guide is useful for those planning to learn PHP and for those who are already using it.

PHP is a server-side scripting language with object-oriented support.

What Should You Know Beforehand?

You should have a basic understanding of the following:

  • HTML/XHTML
  • JavaScript

What Is PHP?

  • PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor.
  • It is a server-side scripting language, similar to ASP.
  • PHP runs on the server side and generates HTML sent to the client.
  • PHP supports many databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Sybase, ODBC, and more.
  • It is free and open-source.
  • Drupal, a popular CMS/CMF, is built using PHP.

What Is a PHP File?

  • PHP files can contain text, HTML, and PHP code.
  • They are executed on the server and returned as plain HTML to the browser.
  • They typically have a .php extension.

What Is MySQL?

  • MySQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS).
  • It works well for both small websites and large applications.
  • It uses standard SQL syntax.
  • It is compatible with multiple platforms.
  • It is also free and open-source.

PHP + MySQL

PHP and MySQL together are a popular combo for web development. You can develop your site on Windows and deploy it on a Linux server with no issues.

Why PHP?

  • It runs on various platforms: Windows, Linux, Unix, and others.
  • Compatible with popular web servers like Apache and IIS.
  • It’s free, open-source, and has a huge community.
  • PHP is easy to learn and fast to write.

Where to Start?

  • Install Open Server (a modern Russian web server suite for local development)
  • Or install XAMPP (a popular cross-platform web server suite)
  • Or manually install PHP, MySQL, and Apache