What is PHP? What is PHP used for? Common Usage of PHP.
PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML.
PHP is a programming language used to script websites that are dynamic and interactive. You'll find it in various types of web applications, from e-commerce websites to CRM systems like HubSpot and Salesforce.
The term PHP stands for PHP Hypertext Preprocessor. Originally, the "PHP" within the acronym stood for Personal Home Page. But, as the language evolved and caught on, it ended up being used for more than just personal home pages. So, that acronym, in turn, became just the "P" within PHP.
Below, we'll take a closer look at PHP, how it works, its relationship with HTML, examples of PHP in action, and more.
PHP performs system functions, i.e. from files on a system it can create, open, read, write, and close them. PHP can handle forms, i.e. gather data from files, save data to a file, through email you can send data, return data to the user.