note 61307 deleted from getting-started by vincent

Note Submitter: ---- What is PHP? PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor PHP is a server-side scripting language, like ASP PHP scripts are executed on the server PHP supports many databases (MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC, etc.) PHP is an open source software (OSS) PHP is free to download and use What is a PHP File? PHP files may contain text, HTML tags and scripts PHP files are returned to the browser as plain HTML PHP files have a file extension of ".php", ".php3", or ".phtml" What is MySQL? MySQL is a small database server MySQL is ideal for small and medium applications MySQL supports standard SQL MySQL compiles on a number of platforms MySQL is free to download and use PHP + MySQL PHP combined with MySQL are cross-platform (means that you can develop in Windows and serve on a Unix platform) Why PHP? PHP runs on different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.) PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.) PHP is FREE to download from the official PHP resource: www.php.net PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side Where to Start? Install an Apache server on a Windows or Linux machine Install PHP on a Windows or Linux machine Install MySQL on a Windows or Linux machine