PHP Syntax

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a popular server-side scripting language designed for web development. Understanding PHP syntax is crucial for writing efficient and effective PHP code. This section covers the basics of PHP syntax, including PHP tags, statements, and comments.

PHP Tags

PHP code is embedded within HTML using special PHP tags. The most commonly used tags are:

<?php ... ?> - Standard PHP opening and closing tags.
<? ... ?> - Short tags (not recommended as they are not always enabled on all servers).

Example of PHP embedded in HTML:

<html>
<body>
    <?php
        echo "Hello, World!";
    ?>
</body>
</html>

PHP Statements

PHP statements are instructions that perform actions. Each statement ends with a semicolon (;). Here’s an example of a simple PHP statement:

echo "This is a statement.";

PHP supports various types of statements, including:

Output statements (e.g., echo, print)
Variable assignments (e.g., $variable = value;)
Control structures (e.g., if, for, while)

PHP Variables

Variables in PHP start with a dollar sign ($) followed by the variable name. Variable names are case-sensitive and should start with a letter or underscore.

Here’s an example of variable declaration and usage:

$name = "John";
echo "Hello, $name!";

PHP variables can hold different data types, including:

String
Integer
Float
Boolean
Array
Object
NULL

PHP Comments

Comments are used to annotate code and make it easier to understand. PHP supports several types of comments:

Single-line comments:

// This is a single-line comment

<!-- This is also a single-line comment -->

Multi-line comments:
```
/* This is a
multi-line comment */
```

Comments are ignored during execution and are used solely for code documentation and explanation.

Summary

Understanding PHP syntax is essential for writing PHP scripts effectively. Familiarize yourself with PHP tags, statements, variables, and comments to create well-structured and readable PHP code.