Using PHP

Using PHP How Do You Use the PHP Programming Language? ChaptersWhat Is PHP?How Do You Display an Image in PHP?How to Open a PHP File in Your BrowserWhich Version of PHP Should You Use for WordPress?“PHP is a minor evil perpetrated and created by incompetent amateurs, whereas Perl is a great and insidious evil perpetrated by skilled but perverted professionals.” - Jon RibbensThere’s a passionate community of people who code in PHP. Millions of people use this programming language to create web sites or other web pages. Programming has never been so accessible.Like some other programming languages (HTML, CSS, Java, MySQL, etc.), PHP can be used in the creation of web sites.Managing databases, graphic interfaces, web servers, IT systems, you don’t need to be an IT engineer to start learning how to code with PHP.In this article, we'll look what PHP is, how you can use it to display images, how to open a PHP file in your web browser, and which version you should use with WordPress, the world's most popular content management system.he ader (“Content-type: image/jpeg”);$image = imagecreatefromjpeg(“myphoto.jpg”);imagejpg($image);?If you don’t want to display the image directly on the website, but keep it as it is in a file, the last line needs to be replaced by the filename of the photo plus the destination.imagejpg($image); (“myphotos/myphoto.jpg”);Your photo is ready!How to Open a PHP File in Your BrowserBefore you can start getting the most out of your dynamic website, there are a few steps you’ll need to follow. To put the code together, you’ll need to download a PHP engine for your site. You’ll need to download the engine onto your computer, install it, then install an editor specific to the programming language. You can use programmes like Notepad++, Dreamweaver, etc.In a word processor, you can write lines to make dynamic web pages.Once your sheet of code is ready, you’ll need to test your PHP file online. This step allows you to check for errors and see if elements are displaying as y ou intended.To read a PHP file online, there are a few options.  The best solution is to rent a server and put your code on it. A server is a computer that allows other users to access it on the internet via an IP address.Renting a server is very easy. There are many sites where you can rent a server with a monthly subscription.Servers allow you to store things online. (Source: heladodementa)Once you’re renting a server, you just need to download your PHP file to it, then type the appropriate address into your browser.The second option doesn’t include renting a server. If you’re not ready to publish your page, you can download the programme XAMPP. This allows you to imitate a server with a “localhost” address.Once the programme’s installed, you just have to integrate the PHP files into the app and the put address into your browser.Which Version of PHP Should You Use for WordPress?WordPress is a CMS (Content Management System) which allows a lot of people to create a webs ite without knowing about web programming. Be it a blog, website, portfolio, etc, there are plenty of themes allowing to personalise your content. Of course, these options aren’t always enough for users so you can modify the base code as well.PHP is used to code WordPress websites. (Source: pixelcreatures)WordPress uses the PHP language. You can introduce lines of PHP code into the site and add plugins.So which version of PHP should you use?There are plenty of versions of PHP and they continue to evolve. The latest version of PHP is 7 and improvements are regularly being made.It’s strongly recommended by WordPress that you use the latest version for both its functionality and security. To change your version, the SG Optimizer plugin can help.To do this, you need to update the theme and plugins in your site so that they’re compatible with the latest version of PHP to avoid bugs and errors.Updating to the latest version of PHP once a year is a good way to ensure that your websit e works well. Think about it!If you want to learn more about programming in PHP, consider getting in touch with a private tutor. There are three types of tutorials offered on Superprof: face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials, and group tutorials.Face-to-face tutorials are your traditional private tutorials with one student and one tutor. These are usually the most costly but they're also the most cost-effective as the tutor can spend the whole time focusing on their only student.Online tutorials are similar to face-to-face tutorials but the tutor delivers the class over webcam using video conferencing software like Skype. This tends to be cheaper since they don't have to travel.Group tutorials are cheaper per student since the cost is shared but you won't get as much individual attention from your tutor as they'll have other students to pay attention to during the tutorials.Don't forget that a lot of the tutors on Superprof offer the first hour of tutoring for free so you can see if they're right for you.