I was reading one ebook online and found the word that php is a server side scripting language. Can anyone please let me know what it is and is it good or bad. I don't have a server so will I be able to use it? I am thinking right now that server side scripting is the program that can only runs on servers. Am I right? Please help me in this. I want to learn php to make my site and I am new to all this web development area. Thanking you in advance for your help.

Server side scripting allows webmasters to generate dynamic pages as per the users preferences or requests that they make by inputing some data or performing some actions.

Without a server it would not run. It is not like normal softwares.

Yes it can run locally on your PC but then you will have to install the webserver and required modules for it.

PHP is my favorite langauge, as the possibilites with it are limited only by the webmaster's imagination. Its uses to make a website dynamic and interactive are endless. This forum, even, like most, is written in PHP:smile:

It does have its bad points, as you need to practice with it and read-up on PHP security before openly coding pages visable to the public; otherwise, you can open yourself up to all kinds of trouble. As a server-side langauge, it isn't like plain HTML (basically just text to a server) that is just read from the server's disk and sent to the user's browser - it is code actually executed on the server, and can interact with the server's OS. To better discribe: HTML/CSS/Javascript are all client-side, basically read "as is" and sent as text to browser, but never interpreted or "acted-on" by server, whereas PHP is just the opposite.

If you already have a website hosted somewhere, you may be in luck. Some hosts allow it, some do not. To see if your host allows it, you can create a page that ends in a name ending in ".php", like "test.php" and put only the following in the file, then run it in a browser:

IF you have PHP enabled, you will see a page simular to https://nameservice.net/Nameslot/PHPcredits.php ; otherwise, if you see <? phpcredits(); ?> just showing in the browser, you don't.

Some basic places to start:
http://www.learnphp.org/
http://www.tutorialcode.com/php/php-basi...nner-tips/
http://php.about.com/od/learnphp/ss/phpbasics.htm
http://inpics.net/phpbasics.html

The official site (http://www.php.net) will become your best friend as you learn the langauge:wink: