Hypertext preprocessor (PHP) has long dominated the web development world and is used by many developers as their primary scripting language.
Over 20 million domains now use PHP as an open-source scripting language, and it’s the primary language used by many popular websites like Facebook, Wikipedia, and apps like Slack and Mailchimp. .
PHP, the most popular open source scripting language, is a prerequisite for anyone who wants to succeed in web development. So if you are considering a career in web development, you should know PHP. But what does PHP contain? What skills do you need to be successful as a PHP developer? In this article, we share what every experienced PHP developer needs to know.
What is PHP development?
PHP is a server-side scripting language based on HTML. It usually integrates with several standard databases such as MySQL, Oracle, Informix, Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL. The main purpose of PHP development is to manage different kinds of content and databases. It also helps with session tracking and can be used to build a complete e-commerce website. PHP has many basic aspects that a professional her web developer must be familiar with. A professional from the start, he doesn’t have to be a PHP developer, but there are certain key aspects of the scripting language that need to be understood over time.
Important things experienced PHP developers should know
Understanding the PHP language
As an experienced PHP developer, you should have a good grasp of the language, be comfortable reading source files, and know how and where to easily find documentation. An experienced PHP developer should be able to distinguish between good and bad sources of information. If you don’t know the source, you should be able to use the official guide. You should also be able to code quickly in PHP.
Use core PHP functions
PHP provides several core functions, and you should be comfortable using each to achieve your goals. The nice thing about PHP is that it’s open source, so you can write your own functions if you want. However, before creating your own functions, you should familiarize yourself with the PHP documentation. Instead of wasting time writing your own functions, find a PHP function that serves the same purpose. For example, don’t bother writing an XML parser for your RSS feeds. There are some PHP XML parser functions useful for this purpose, such as xml_parse_into_struct.
Create a configuration file
If you know how to create a configuration file, you don’t have to worry about database connections scattered all over the place. This master file contains settings and can be easily included in PHP scripts. An experienced PHP developer should know how to create this file and change its settings in the future so as not to have to create multiple files. This knowledge is also important when applying other constants and functions in multiple scripts. Also, using a configuration file makes your PHP code more integrated and easier to maintain.
