When starting a new php project as a php programmer, it is important to respect a set of things from the beginning of the project. Some simplify the development, others the tests, still others the processes of deployment or putting into production. But what are the stakes of your project ?
What is PHP for a web project?
Within the group of PHP, HTML, CSS and JavaScript technologies, PHP is used to make pages dynamic. We will take a closer look at the "dynamic" aspect of a web page. Be careful not to misunderstand: the dynamism of which we speak here is not animation. In programming, when we talk about dynamism, it's as opposed to something static. We are talking about a code that adapts according to what happens before.
How can I get started with PHP?
To get started in PHP I will give you a simple little configuration that will avoid you to install servers and features. This handy tool is called WAMP (Windows Apache MySQL PHPMyAdmin) and contains everything you need to develop what you want. All ? Maybe not, but the limits of this tool do not collide when one begins to develop.
Let's detail a little bit what we find in this :
Windows: because this version of this "package" is for Windows. You will find a version of WAMP called LAMP for Linux but also a MAMP version for Macintosh.
Apache: it's the server that will display your pages. It is he who will interpret the PHP and fill your HTML pages or your templates with the right values in it.
MySQL: This is your database. This is where you will record all the information.
PHPMyAdmin: This tool is very useful because it is a graphical interface linking you to the database. This is not the only way to access the database but it is the one we prefer when we start in computer science in general.
You can now start coding pages in this notepad. You will have to change the file extensions for .php, .js, .css or .html files. This technique works very well.
