Learn PHP with Real Code Examples

PHP runs on the server and outputs HTML, making it ideal for dynamic websites.

It integrates easily with MySQL and other databases for full-stack development.

Runs on nearly every hosting provider and supports procedural, OOP, and modern frameworks.

Server-side scripting

Classes, interfaces, and traits

Namespaces and autoloading

Type declarations and strict typing

Error handling with exceptions

Variables and data types

Functions and arrays

OOP basics (classes, constructors)

Traits and interfaces

Namespaces and autoloading

Working with MySQL using PDO

public/ for entrypoint files

src/ or app/ for logic

vendor/ for Composer packages

config/ for environment settings

routes/ for app routes

Write code in .php files

Route requests via index.php

Use Composer for dependencies

Serve through Apache or Nginx

Implement MVC with frameworks like Laravel

Beginner: Simple login systems

Intermediate: REST APIs with Laravel

Advanced: Complex multi-module apps

Expert: High-scale distributed PHP backend

More accessible than Node.js

More mature than Python for web hosting

Less low-level than Go/Rust

Better CMS support than any other language

PHP 3–4 – Zend Engine foundations

PHP 5 – OOP, exceptions

PHP 7 – Huge performance jump

PHP 8 – JIT, attributes, union types

Zend Engine: PHP's core runtime

Trait: Reusable code block for classes

Composer: PHP package manager

OPcache: Bytecode caching engine