Writing Your First PHP Hello World Program


PHP is a powerful and versatile scripting language used for web development. In this guide, we'll walk you through writing your first PHP program – the classic "Hello, World!" program. By the end of this tutorial, you'll understand the basic structure of a PHP script and how to run it.


1. Introduction to PHP

Let's start by understanding the importance of PHP and how it fits into web development.


2. Setting Up Your Environment

Before you can write and run PHP code, you'll need to set up a development environment. This typically includes installing PHP and a web server. We've covered the installation in a previous guide, so make sure you've completed that step.


3. Writing Your First PHP Program

In PHP, you can create a simple "Hello, World!" program by following these steps:


a. Create a PHP File

Open a text editor and create a new file with a 

.php
extension, for example, 
hello.php
.


b. Write PHP Code

Inside your 

hello.php
file, write the following PHP code:

                // This is a PHP comment
        echo "Hello, World!";
        ?>

c. Save the File

Save the file to your web server's document root directory or the directory where you're running your PHP scripts.


4. Running Your PHP Program

To see the output of your "Hello, World!" program, follow these steps:


a. Open a Web Browser

Open your web browser of choice.


b. Access Your PHP File

In the browser's address bar, type the URL to your PHP file. For example, if you're running a local server, you can access it using:

        http://localhost/hello.php

c. View the Output

You should see the "Hello, World!" message displayed on your web page. Congratulations, you've just run your first PHP program!


5. Conclusion

You've now written and run your first PHP "Hello, World!" program. This simple example introduces you to PHP syntax and how to execute PHP scripts. From here, you can explore more complex PHP applications, web development, and various PHP frameworks.


This tutorial provides a basic introduction to PHP programming. To become proficient, continue practicing, experimenting, and building real PHP projects.