PHP

PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open-source general-purpose scripting language, especially suited for web development. It powers a significant portion of the web, including WordPress, Laravel, and Symfony.

Overview

PHP is a server-side scripting language embedded in HTML. It executes on the server and generates HTML output sent to the client. Modern PHP (8.x) includes JIT compilation, typed properties, union types, and improved performance.

Key Features

  • Server-side scripting for dynamic web content
  • Extensive library of built-in functions and extensions
  • Framework ecosystem: Laravel, Symfony, CodeIgniter, CakePHP
  • Major frameworks: Laravel, Symfony, CodeIgniter (lightweight)
  • Database support: MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Oracle, and more
  • Large community and extensive documentation
  • Modern features in PHP 8: JIT compiler, attributes, match expression, union types

Licensing

PHP is released under the PHP License, which is OSI-approved open source. It is compatible with the GPL.

See PHP License for details.

Official Resources