Summary

PHP makes your web pages come alive in ways no static page can match. Here are some of the significant points about getting started:

• The PHP installation instructions vary by operating system and version and can be very involved. To install PHP, use the instructions that come with the PHP download.

• To test your installation of PHP, try typing php -v on the command line; if you see PHP version information, you've been able to access PHP.

• To work with PHP, you have to set up your development environment, which includes a text editor or PHP IDE. Your development environment should also include some way of installing PHP pages where the server can reach them.

• PHP scripts enclose executable PHP between the markup <? and ?>. You can add HTML to the same page, as long as it's outside the <? and ?>.

• The echo statement echoes text to the browser.

• Here documents let you echo every word in them until the end token is encountered.

• There are three types of comments in PHP: /* */, //, and #.

• You prefix variable names with a $, and a valid variable name starts with a letter or underscore, followed by any number of letters, numbers, or underscores.