|
Spotlight on PHP
Like so
many things, it started out as something small. In 1994, a
Toronto-based consultant named Rasmus Lerdorf developed a small
hack to help Web designers. It was a simple little program that
allowed the user to place a macro in static HTML code. Lerdorf
decided to follow the new trend of open source, and the program
proved to be popular.
In
1997, two Israeli programmers turned it into a full-fledged
programming language. By re-writing the core engine, they
transformed it from a little utility into a powerful Web design
tool. And since then, its popularity has taken off. As of January
2001, PHP has been compiled with Apache in over 5,000,000 web
sites, with its market share still growing.
But
what is PHP? Simply put, it is a programming language that can be
used to create dynamic Web pages and applications. PHP-enabled
pages are treated exactly the same as HTML pages, simplifying
matters considerably for the programmer. Moreover, PHP is a very
comprehensive tag language, with the ability to insert several
statements within a single tag. While version 3.0 had difficulties
interacting with large Web applications, the new version 4.0 is
fully prepared for the enterprise market. PHP is also multimedia
capable, with simplified image creation and display, and the
ability to exploit users' audio capacities. With the language's
flexibility, it may only be a matter of time before it is also
used in non-Internet applications, such as word processors and
databases.
PHP's
greatest strength lies in its open-source philosophy. Like Linux,
PHP is a free program, with a readily accessible source code. This
means that bugs can be found and corrected much more quickly than
in cases of proprietary software, such as Microsoft's IIS; as a
result, new versions can be developed more quickly. However,
because PHP is still in many ways an infant in the programming
language world, it will experience growing pains. Enterprise-scale
compatibility has only come with the most recent release, and
there will likely be some bugs to work out. However, as a
Web-based solution, it is both easier and less expensive to use
than many of the other available options. PHP can be downloaded at
www.php.net
|
