What is PHP? Why PHP is so popular?

The fastest growing technology in the world of web development is PHP. The article gives details about PHP, reasons for its popularity and why it recommended to use.
PHP
PHP stands for Pre Hypertext Processor. In simple terms, it is server side scripting language and it is used to create static and dynamic web sites. PHP is also an embedded language and we can embed PHP code with HTML and JavaScript to create a dynamic web site.
Why it is popular?
It is an open source language so you do not need to buy any license or copy to install PHP on your machine. The second reason is that the PHP community is very vast and solution for any technical problem can be found on internet, forum or blog.
Is it secured?
Yes, PHP is very much secured and PHP.net is keep releasing the latest version and updates for the PHP for latest security updates and bugs being removed?
What about the database?
Although it can work with any DBMS but it performs best with MySql and most codes are developed considering MySql in mind.
What is latest update?
Currently PHP 5 is very popular, however version 6 is launched too and soon the stable version will come. In PHP 5, few functions are marked with warning. The warning is that, they will deprecated in version 6. Deprecation means they will not work in those new versions. So if you are developing the new code, it is better that you code the site considering PHP 6 standard.
In MySql, MySql 5.2 is very popular and currently working along with PHP. The main reason why PHP is so popular is for the online help. Since it is an open source scripting language, you normally get the solution for all of your issue from blogs, online forums and other experts opinion.
For more information, http://www.php.net is official website for the PHP where you can find all the latest updates, bugs report and functionality guidelines for same. Based on PHP language, there are number of CMS like wordpress, drupal, Joomla and shopping cart CMS like magento, zen cart, xCart are developed and very popular. You can develope the website also and along with that you can also install extra plugins to utilize all your requirements.
PHP is not only the present but also has very strong future and that is the reason why you should use php to develop your web site.

10 reasons for developing web applications with PHP

If you are a budding web developer or are looking to learn a web programming language then you really should consider learning php. In this article I'll present 10 good reasons why PHP should be one of the modern web programming languages on your professional development short-list.
1: Free, experienced support from a 1000 php communities:
Actually, there are probably many more than 1000 communities that can provide you with php help. There are literally hundreds of dedicated php web development forums and hundreds more that have php sub-forums. Help for the php beginner is literally a forum post away. Generally speaking you'll find an answer to your problem in a very short time. Getting help from more experienced php coders is a great pleasure because it can remove a lot of the uncertainty accompanying learning something new.
2: The cost of an open source application is nothing:
Unlike other propriety coding languages (notably Microsoft's aspx language) you don't pay a cent to get started with php programming. In fact you don't need to obtain or download any php software to begin. Simply use an open source editing tool and start coding. Upload your code to a cheap hosting account and you are away. You can readily obtain open source editors from a variety of sources. A search on Google for "php editors" returns hundreds of possibilities. As you progress you can download packages such as LAMP or WAMP so you can see php in action in a live server environment.
3: Open source has better security - because everyone knows what is in it:
Again, unlike propriety web serving systems, everyone can see what php is made of. Some people will argue that this makes php less secure because everyone knows what php specific exploits exist. My view is that the open nature of php literally "forces" the php developers and community to keep abreast of security issues and to respond to them as soon as possible. Be aware however that it is easy to make simple security mistakes with php - and all languages suffer from this characteristic - you just need to do your research to keep your web applications secure.
4: Hundreds of existing php code examples:
In addition to forums that provide advice and experience for free you'll also find hundreds of examples that will help you get started and move ahead as a PHP Programmer. From simple code to connect to a database, more complex examples that allow you to grab data from an external website or a full-blown example of AJAX and php integration it is all there for you to study, take apart and build upon.
5: Scores of existing code frameworks:
Frameworks are a relatively recent development and they can save you heaps of time and heaps of heartache. Simply, frameworks are like pre-fabricated houses. A team of developers have combined their efforts to solve the problem of repetitive programming tasks. Frameworks allow you to get up and running with both simple and complicated web applications in a matter of hours. There are scores of php frameworks for a wide variety of tasks. Again a simple search on Google will provide you with a large array of frameworks to choose from and explore.
6: Interoperability with web 2.0 applications:
Modern web 2.0 applications are largely characterized by mashups and desktop style user interfaces. php is an excellent choice for interacting with other websites and providing rich user experience. Simple php commands like curl or fopen allow you to grab data from other websites with relative ease. Php works well with javascript so you can provide your end users with modern, responsive interfaces that are way beyond the old static interfaces of days past.
7: Many content management systems use php:
If you decide that you want to be a website designer or programmer then php is an excellent choice. Many of the modern content management systems (CMS) use php. Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla - these very popular CMS packages all use php. Each CMS usually has a vibrant php developer community. And if you become expert in one or more php-based CMS then you stand a very good chance of finding ongoing work customizing CMS packages for clients or website providers.
8: php is scalable to the largest web applications:
Some of the most frequented and popular websites on the planet use php. php will scale up to meet the most exacting requirements for websites such as joomla.org and wordpress.com. These websites provide 24X7 availability for thousands of concurrent users without skipping a beat. If you have the next facebook or myspace application in mind then php is definitely a development language worth considering.
9: Most web hosting companies support PHP:
Most of the website hosting providers will support php. It is a standard component of most Linux based hosting accounts. Remember we talked about LAMP and WAMP earlier? Well the 'P' stands for php. If you want your applications to run on Linux-based (and some Windows-based) web hosting platforms then php is an obvious choice.
10: Coding with php is fun!
Hopefully by now I have convinced you that php is a web development language that at the very least is worth serious consideration. And while you consider seriously the option of developing with php I'd like to leave you with this last thought: Coding with php is fun. I have spent countless hours writing simple php applications, customizing php-based CMS packages and generally mucking abut with php. And generally speaking (not counting the odd pulling out of my hair every now and then) every hour with php has been more than worth the effort and extremely rewarding