Getting Started with PHP: A Beginner's Guide to Creating a Hello World Program

This tutorial serves as an introduction for beginners to PHP by guiding them through the creation of a simple "Hello World" program. PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used server-side scripting language tailored for web development.

Key Concepts

• PHP Basics: PHP is embedded within HTML and is executed on the server, making it a powerful tool for dynamic web page creation.
• Syntax: PHP scripts begin with <?php and conclude with ?>. The code within these tags is executed by the server.

Steps to Create a "Hello World" Program

1. Set Up Environment: Ensure that you have a server (like Apache) and PHP installed on your machine. Tools such as XAMPP or MAMP can facilitate local development.
2. Create a PHP File: Create a new file with a .php extension (e.g., hello.php).
3. Run the PHP Script: Place the file in the server's root directory (e.g., htdocs for XAMPP). Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost/hello.php to see the output.

Write PHP Code: Open the file in a text editor and insert the following code:

<?php
	echo "Hello, World!";
?>

Example Output

When you run the script, the browser will display:

Hello, World!

Conclusion

Creating a "Hello World" program in PHP is a straightforward way to embark on your journey of learning the language. By following the steps outlined above, beginners can quickly familiarize themselves with PHP syntax and its integration with HTML.