Facilities with PHP Everything is possible with PHP

Php can really do anything. Essentially, its application field is focused on writing of scripts, which work on server side. So Php is able to perform all that performs any other CGI program, for instance, to process form data, generate dynamic pages or send and accept cookies. But PHP can fulfill many more tasks.


There are 3 main fields, where Php is used:

  • Scripts creating for implementing on server side. Php is used most widely exactly this way. All what you'll need are Php parser (in the form of CGI program or server module), web-server and browser. For you to track the results of Php scripts implementation in browser you need a working web-server and installed Php case you just experiment, you can use your home computer instead of server;
  • Script creation for implementation in a command line. You can create a Php script, which is able to launch independently from web-server and browser. All that you will need is a Php parser. Yjis way of Php using suits perfectly for scripts, which should be executed regularly, for example, by means of cron (on Unix or Linux platforms) or Task Scheduler on Windows platforms. These scripts can also be used for simple text processing tasks;
  • Creation of windows applications, which are executed on a client's side. Maybe Php isn't the best language for creation of such applications, but if you know Php very well and want to use some of its facilities for your client-applications, then you can use PHP-GTK to create such applications. In such a way you can create cross-platform applications. PHP-GTK is Php extension and isn't supplied together with Php distribution disk;

Php is available for the majority of operational systems, including Linux, many Unix modifications (such as HP-UX, Solaris and OpenBSD), Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, RISC OS, and many others. In php is also included support of the majority of modern web-servers, such as Apache, Microsoft Internet Information Server, Personal Web Server, Netscape and iPlane servers, Oreilly Website Pro, Caudium, Xitami, OmniHTTPd servers and many others. For the majority of servers Php is supplied as a module, for others, which support CGI standard, Php can function as a CGI processor.


So, when choosing Php you get the freedom of choice of an operational system and a web-server. Besides, you get the choice either to use procedure-oriented programming or object-oriented programming or even their combination.


Php is able not only to deliver HTML. Php facilities include images, PDF files or even Flash reels formation, which can be created "on the fly". Php can also deliver any text data, such as XHTML and other XML-files. Php is able to perform automatic generation of such files and save them in file system of your server instead of giving to a client, in such a way organizing dynamic content cash located on a server side.


One of the most considerable Php advantages is a support of a wide data bases range. It is very simple to create a script, which uses data bases.


Today Php supports the following: Adabas D, InterBase, PostgreSQL, dBase, FrontBase, SQLite, Empress mSQL, Solid, Direct MS-SQL, Sybase, Hyperwave, MySQL, Velocis, IBM DB2 ODBC, Unix dbm Informix, Oracle (OCI7 и OCI8), Ingres, Ovrimos.


There is also DBX support for work at the abstract level in Php, so that you can work with any data base that uses Php. Besides, php supports ODBC (Open Database Connection standard), so that you can work with any DB supporting that recognized world-wide standard. Php also supports "communication" with other services using such protocols as LDAP, IMAP, SNMP, NNTP, POP3, HTTP, COM (on Windows platform) and many others. Besides, you get an opportunity to work with network sockets directly. Php supports the standard of exchange of complex data structures WDDX. We can't but mention here Java objects support and the possibility of their usage as Php objects. To access remote objects you can use CORBA extension.


Of paramount importance is electronic commerce and payment realization functions - Cybercash, CyberMUT, VeriSign Payflow Pro and CCVS. And the last but not the least we should mention support of many other extensions, such as mnoGoSearch machine functions, IRC Gateway functions, functions for work with compressed files (gzip, bz2), functions of calendar calculations, translation and much more.