Despite the presence of more modern languages on the IT market today, PHP is still quite popular. Why it is so, and what is this language about? In our article, we will try to shed some light on this topic. Continue reading to learn more about the essential nature of PHP, its most prominent advantages, areas of usage and discover how it is used in WordPress.
What Is PHP
PHP is a free, open source programming language that is actively used by lots of engineers. Thanks to rich possibilities of PHP, you can utilize it to create a variety of different projects, for example, that include a GUI. The language per se has been present on the tech market for almost 30 years already. In most cases, the language is implemented for the creation of efficient web servers. It can run both on browsers and command lines. This being said, in the case the engineers don’t want to display their coding in the browsers, they are welcome to display them in the terminals.
There are significant bright sides of PHP that allow it not to lose its positions among other languages. Although it is not among the top leaders in the IT industry now, it is still present and widely used all over the world across various domains. So, what are the major reasons of its pervasiveness? Let’s list the most prominent characteristics.
First and foremost, the instrument offers platform-agnostic nature. In this regard, engineers are free to choose any operating system they would like, and they are free to go. Then, there are its open-source qualities: all the savvy coders who are eager to promote the instrument and upgrade its functionalities could introduce any kind of improvements to it. Another great reason why you could definitely want to resort to this technology is its comparatively low learning curve, which allows you to handle it even if you are a newbie in the tech industry and do not have profound expertise in the field yet, except for some basic coding knowledge.
Areas of PHP Application
Let’s consider the areas where the language can be implemented. First of all, it can benefit the building of efficient web apps that have customized characteristics and high interactivity. Then, it can facilitate the creation of a productive CMS that helps in management, control and storage of data and effective communication between the users. The other huge area is the building of applications for online stores.
There are plenty of industrious platforms that assist online sellers in their marketing endeavors, improving customer experience and increasing sales. PHP is especially advantageous for building bright dynamic GUIs as well. Besides, PHP is great for building visuals and rich imagery for websites.
What is more, another significant characteristic of the language is its ability of illustrative display of data. With PHP, engineers can take advantage of revealing graphical representations in the forms of tables, diagrams, etc. Such an approach can help in any sphere where users need to access data in a convenient and easily comprehensible form. This improves the customer experience greatly and often leads to more conversions and increased profits.
How PHP Is Used In WordPress
Below, we will learn the peculiarities of PHP implementation in WordPress. Both PHP and WordPress are open source technologies, so you can start using them gratuitously. As a server-side language, PHP can run on the web hosting servers. When users try to visit such websites, the browsers they utilize contact the servers for page requesting.
PHP coding is what fuels the functioning of WordPress. The website can store everything in its databases, including all the names, headings, subheadings, bodies of texts, pictures and the extensive data about authors and contributors. The major objective of PHP in this sphere is to provide definite datasets from the databases and form them into the HTML-based pages. There are plenty of guidelines and tutorials on the Internet that provide detailed information on how it functions. The coding is stored in files that form PHP extensions.
Although PHP is a serious language, you do not have to study it to use WordPress. Any user can start utilize it even without basic knowledge of coding. It is possible to carry out the majority of routine tasks that include writing articles, carrying out operating and managing activities only with the basic skills in WordPress, as it has everything the user may need to create a decent WordPress-based website. However, if you desire to try more sophisticated customized features, you’d better learn PHP professionally since it can be tricky. Thanks to the robust community of its loyal adherents and plenty of tutorials, this goal seems more than achievable.