essay php

What is PHP? The PHP Programming Language Meaning Explained

PHP is an open-source server-side scripting language that many devs use for web development. It is also a general-purpose language that you can use to make lots of projects, including Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs).

In this article, I will help you explore the world of PHP so you can learn how it works and its basic features. By the end, you will be able to write your first Hello World program in PHP.

What Does PHP Mean?

The abbreviation PHP initially stood for Personal Homepage. But now it is a recursive acronym for Hypertext Preprocessor. (It's recursive in the sense that the first word itself is an abbreviation, so the full meaning doesn't follow the abbreviation.)

The first version of PHP was launched 26 years ago. Now it's on version 8, released in November 2020, but version 7 remains the most widely used.

PHP runs on the Zend engine, which is the most popular implementation. There are some other implementations as well, like parrot, HPVM (Hip Hop Virtual Machine), and Hip Hop, created by Facebook.

PHP is mostly used for making web servers. It runs on the browser and is also capable of running in the command line. So, if you don't feel like showing your code output in the browser, you can show it in the terminal.

Advantages of PHP

PHP has some advantages that have made it so popular, and it's been the go-to language for web servers for more than 15 years now. Here are some of PHP's benefits:

Cross-Platform: PHP is platform-independent. You don't have to have a particular OS to use it because it runs on every platform, whether it's Mac, Windows, or Linux.

Open Source: PHP is open source. The original code is made available to everyone who wants to build upon it. This is one of the reasons why one of its frameworks, Laravel, is so popular.

Easy to learn: PHP is not hard to learn for absolute beginners. You can pick it up pretty if you already have programming knowledge.

PHP syncs with all Databases: You can easily connect PHP to all Databases, relational and non-relational. So it can connect in no time to MySQL, Postgress, MongoDB, or any other database.

Supportive Community: PHP has a very supportive online community. The official documentation provides guides on how to use the features and you can easily get your problem fixed while stuck.

Who Uses PHP

A number of established companies and tech giants use PHP to run their servers and make a lot of incredible things.

Facebook: Facebook uses PHP to power its site. In turn, the company contributed to the community by creating an implementation known as Hip Hop for PHP.

Wikipedia: one of the world's largest sources of information on any topic, Wikipedia is built in PHP.

Content Management Systems (CMSs): the world's most popular content management system, WordPress, is built in PHP. Other content management systems such as Drupal, Joomla, and Magento are also built in PHP. Shopify runs on PHP too.

Web Hosting Platforms: a lot of Web Hosting Platforms such as BlueHost, Site ground, and Whogohost run their hosting servers using PHP.

Is PHP Dying?

Nowadays, there's an intense debate on whether PHP is on the decline or not. This is because of the advent and increasing popularity of other languages suited for the server-side such as JavaScript (Node JS), Python, Golang, and others.

But is PHP really dying? The answer is no. Despite some people bashing on it and the claims of decline, PHP is still used to run the servers of almost 80% of all websites today. So, if you visit 10 websites a day, there's a chance that 8 of them use PHP.

In terms of job availability, PHP ranks better than a lot of other programming languages on the job platform Indeed. A lot of PHP developers make a good living making WordPress themes and plugins every year – the average PHP developer in the US makes $86,000 per year.

How to Write Your First Hello World Program in PHP

Now that you have learned about PHP and its advantages, it's time to write your first Hello World program in it!

First of all, you must have PHP installed on your local machine. You can get that done by installing an XAMP (Cross-Platform, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) or WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) server.

XAMP works on all operating systems and WAMP works only in Windows. I will be using WAMP.

Open up the WAMP or XAMP server and make sure all services are running. If you are using WAMP, the WAMP logo should show on your taskbar with the color green.

Open up your C drive and look for the installation directory of your WAMP server. In my case, it is wamp64 .

Open the installation directory, and then the www folder.

Create a folder right there and name it whatever you want, then open up the folder with your code editor.

Create an index.php file and paste in the following code:

You can also put your “Hello World” text in a variable, then use the echo system to display it in the browser.

In PHP, you can declare a variable with the dollar sign ($). Your statements, apart from the last one, must also be terminated by a semi-colon.

To run your code in the browser, open up the browser and write this in the address bar localhost/the-folder-of-your-php-file/php-file.php , then hit enter.

Make sure your WAMP or XAMP server is running, otherwise it won’t work.

You can see that the code successfully ran in the browser, because I got the file path right.

Another beautiful thing about PHP is that you can embed it in HTML. You can do it like this:

PHP remains a relevant and widely-used language in web development. Despite the mockery and debate on whether it’s still valuable, PHP developers keep earning good livings from working with the language. So, PHP doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Now, go code some PHP!

Thank you for reading, and keep coding.

Web developer and technical writer focusing on frontend technologies. I also dabble in a lot of other technologies.

If you read this far, thank the author to show them you care. Say Thanks

Learn to code for free. freeCodeCamp's open source curriculum has helped more than 40,000 people get jobs as developers. Get started

Home — Essay Samples — Information Science and Technology — Computer — Web programming language: PHP

Web Programming Language: Php

• Categories: Computer Computer Programming Information Technology

About this sample

Words: 880 |

Published: Feb 12, 2019

Words: 880 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

• Make speed development possible
• Provide well-organized, reusable and maintainable code
• Provides scalable web apps
• Improved security feature
• Follow the MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern, ensuring the separation of presentation and logic6. Promote modern web development practices, like object-oriented programming toolsSo, hire a PHP developer who has a good experience in custom web application development. CodeIgniter is a popular PHP framework that was created by Ellislab in the year 2006 and made available for free use under MIT license.
• Model-View-Controller Based System- This platform uses MVC system to catch complex models and aids you to build web application hassle-free with the use of controllers and views. It assists the developer to make core libraries for the system and allows you to incorporate your own existing scripts with database.
• Form Validation- It enables you to write the code in a single line with the help of an effective validation framework system. CodeIgniter can generate codes error-free and ensures a myriad range of control structures to be placed within the HTML form.
• Error Handling- CodeIgniter provides user-friendly interfaces that can uncover error functions throughout the application. It can show all PHP errors in your web application without missing meagerness.
• Migration- PHP developers can handle database schema updates through different web application fields. It is easy and hassle-free in CodeIgniter to migrate from one server to the other.
• Configuration and Customizable- In this PHP framework, developers can easily edit the existing files. CodeIgniter offers easy configuration and customizable of the files.
• It aids developers to find the bugs in programming codes and rectifying them instantly in the web applications.
• Programmers can make web applications with high-end functionalities and additional features by using its in-built resource and libraries.
• It allows easy migration from source to destination service hosting.
• It offers you user-friendly interface, thereby, helping developers to make an active, flexible, secure and large web applications successfully in a short time.
• Web developers can use this powerful framework to tailor the configuration files easily.
• CodeIgniter assists the programmer to create both front-end and rear-end of a web application efficiently and easily in a secured manner.
• It is a reliable framework that has got a clear documentation.
• There are no restrictive coding rules in CodeIgniter, thus, web developers can use their own coding as well as naming conventions.
• CodeIgniter does not have large scale monolithic libraries. Its framework is lean and has improved productivity.
• This PHP framework provides Active Record Database Support, XSS filtering, Form and Data validation, and session management.
• It also provides Image Manipulation Library, File Uploading class, FTP class, Localization and pagination.
• Full Page Caching, Data Encryption, Benchmarking, and Error Logging are also possible with this framework.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr Jacklynne

Verified writer

• Expert in: Information Science and Technology

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 1077 words

1 pages / 500 words

2 pages / 812 words

2 pages / 1033 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of integrated technology that authorizes interaction of distinctively connected computing devise which could be rooted with other interfaces like humans or machines, associated via wired and [...]

One of the primary input device used with a computer that looks similar to those found on electric type-writers is a computer keyboard, but with some additional keys. Keyboard allows you to input letter, number and other symbol [...]

RAM (random access memory) is the memory that the computer can use ‘randomly’, this is the memory that is kept available for programs to use – the memory available is measured in gigabytes (GB) and speed is measured in [...]

Computer technology has had a deep impact on the education sector. The following are the importance of ICT in education as retrieved from several journals and databases. 1. Computers are a brilliant aid in teaching. [...]

There are issues that the patient might face or think he or she will face by using computerized system rather than using papers mainly because they will think that it can be accessed by anyone. In any field: Nursing, Biomedical [...]

To know about STP (Spanning Tree Protocol) and also known as Spanning Tree Algorithm (SPA). It is a layer 2 protocol which usually runs on all the switches or bridges and also its specification is that, it is an IEEE 802.1 D. as [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

• PHP Tutorial
• PHP Exercises
• PHP Calendar
• PHP Filesystem
• PHP Programs
• PHP Array Programs
• PHP String Programs
• PHP Interview Questions
• PHP IntlChar
• PHP Image Processing
• PHP Formatter
• Web Technology

PHP Introduction

• How to install PHP in windows 10 ?
• How to Install PHP on Linux?
• PHP | Basic Syntax
• How to write comments in PHP ?
• PHP Variables
• PHP echo and print
• PHP | Data Types
• PHP | Strings
• Associative Arrays in PHP
• Multidimensional arrays in PHP
• Sorting Arrays in PHP 5

PHP Constants

• PHP | Constants
• PHP Constant Class
• PHP Defining Constants
• PHP | Magic Constants
• PHP Operators
• PHP | Bitwise Operators
• PHP | Ternary Operator

PHP Control Statements

• PHP | Decision Making
• PHP switch Statement
• PHP break (Single and Nested Loops)
• PHP continue Statement
• PHP | Loops
• PHP while Loop
• PHP do-while Loop
• PHP for Loop
• PHP | foreach Loop

PHP Functions

• PHP | Functions
• PHP Arrow Functions
• Anonymous recursive function in PHP

PHP Advanced

• PHP | Superglobals
• HTTP GET and POST Methods in PHP
• PHP | Regular Expressions
• PHP Form Processing
• PHP Date and Time
• Describe PHP Include and Require
• PHP | Basics of File Handling
• PHP | Uploading File
• PHP Cookies
• PHP | Sessions
• Implementing callback in PHP
• PHP | Classes
• PHP | Constructors and Destructors
• PHP | Access Specifiers
• Multiple Inheritance in PHP
• Abstract Classes in PHP
• PHP | Interface
• Static Function in PHP
• PHP | Namespace

MySQL Database

• PHP | MySQL Database Introduction
• PHP | MySQL ( Creating Database )
• PHP Database connection
• Connect PHP to MySQL
• PHP | MySQL ( Creating Table )
• PHP | Inserting into MySQL database
• PHP | MySQL Select Query
• PHP | MySQL Delete Query
• PHP | MySQL WHERE Clause
• PHP | MySQL UPDATE Query
• PHP | MySQL LIMIT Clause

Complete References

• PHP Array Functions
• PHP String Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Math Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Filesystem Functions Complete Reference
• PHP intl Functions Complete Reference
• PHP IntlChar Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Image Processing and GD Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Imagick Functions Complete Reference
• PHP ImagickDraw Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Gmagick Functions Complete Reference
• PHP GMP Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Ds\Set Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Ds\Map Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Ds\Stack Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Ds\Queue Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Ds\PriorityQueue Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Ds\Deque Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Ds\Sequence Functions Complete Reference
• PHP SPL Data structures Complete Reference
• PHP Ds\Vector Functions Complete Reference
• PHP DOM Functions Complete Reference
• PHP Exercises, Practice Questions and Solutions

The term PHP is an acronym for – Hypertext Preprocessor . PHP is a server-side scripting language designed specifically for web development. It is open-source which means it is free to download and use. It is very simple to learn and use. The file extension of PHP is “.php”. 

PHP was introduced by Rasmus Lerdorf in the first version and participated in the later versions. It is an interpreted language and it does not require a compiler. 

Characteristics of PHP

• PHP code is executed in the server.
• It can be integrated with many databases such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Sybase, and Informix.
• It is powerful to hold a content management system like WordPress and can be used to control user access.
• It supports main protocols like HTTP Basic, HTTP Digest, IMAP, FTP, and others.
• Websites like www.facebook.com and www.yahoo.com are also built on PHP.
• One of the main reasons behind this is that PHP can be easily embedded in HTML files and HTML codes can also be written in a PHP file.
• The thing that differentiates PHP from the client-side language like HTML is, that PHP codes are executed on the server whereas HTML codes are directly rendered on the browser. PHP codes are first executed on the server and then the result is returned to the browser.
• The only information that the client or browser knows is the result returned after executing the PHP script on the server and not the actual PHP codes present in the PHP file. Also, PHP files can support other client-side scripting languages like CSS and JavaScript.

Origin and History

• PHP was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 and initially stood for “Personal Home Page.” Over the years, it evolved into “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.”
• PHP is open-source and has a large community of developers contributing to its development.

Purpose of using PHP

• PHP is primarily used for server-side web development. It enables the creation of dynamic web pages by embedding PHP code within HTML.
• PHP can perform various tasks, including handling form data, generating dynamic page content, managing databases, and interacting with servers.

Features of PHP

• Dynamic Typing: PHP is dynamically typed, meaning you don’t need to declare the data type of a variable explicitly.
• Cross-Platform: PHP runs on various platforms, making it compatible with different operating systems.
• Database Integration: PHP provides built-in support for interacting with databases, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and others.
• Server-Side Scripting: PHP scripts are executed on the server, generating HTML that is sent to the client’s browser.

Why should we use PHP?

PHP can actually do anything related to server-side scripting or more popularly known as the backend of a website. For example, PHP can receive data from forms, generate dynamic page content, can work with databases, create sessions, send and receive cookies, send emails, etc. There are also many hash functions available in PHP to encrypt users’ data which makes PHP secure and reliable to be used as a server-side scripting language. So these are some of PHP’s abilities that make it suitable to be used as a server-side scripting language. You will get to know more of these abilities in further tutorials.  Even if the above abilities do not convince you of PHP, there are some more features of PHP. PHP can run on all major operating systems like Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, etc. Almost all of the major servers available today like Apache supports PHP. PHP allows using a wide range of databases. And the most important factor is that it is free to use and download and anyone can download PHP from its official source: www.php.net .  Please refer to setting up the development environment to setup and run PHP programs.

What’s new in PHP 7.0?

• PHP 7 is faster than the previous versions.
• PHP 7 supports new operators.
• PHP 7 supports better Error Handling functionalities.
• PHP 7 supports stricter declarations for types in function parameters.

Advantages of PHP

• Open Source: PHP is an open-source language, making it freely available for use and distribution. This encourages a large community of developers, contributing to its growth and improvement.
• Easy to Learn: PHP syntax is similar to C and other programming languages, making it relatively easy for developers to learn, especially for those with a background in programming.
• Web Integration: PHP is designed specifically for web development and is embedded within HTML. It seamlessly integrates with various web technologies, facilitating the creation of dynamic and interactive web pages.
• Database Support: PHP has excellent support for various databases, including MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and more. This makes it easy to connect and interact with databases, a crucial aspect of many web applications.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: PHP is platform-independent and runs on various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and others. This ensures compatibility across different environments.
• Large Community and Documentation: PHP has a vast and active community of developers. The abundance of online resources, tutorials, and documentation makes it easier for developers to find solutions and seek help when needed.
• Frameworks and CMS: There are popular PHP frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, and CodeIgniter, which provide pre-built modules and features, aiding in rapid development. Additionally, PHP supports widely used content management systems (CMS) like WordPress and Joomla.
• Server-Side Scripting: PHP scripts are executed on the server, reducing the load on the client’s side. This server-side scripting capability is crucial for generating dynamic content and performing server-related tasks.
• Community Support: The PHP community actively contributes to the language’s development, ensuring regular updates, security patches, and improvements.

Disadvantages of PHP

• Inconsistency: PHP has been criticized for inconsistencies in function names and parameter orders. This can lead to confusion for developers, especially when working with a mix of older and newer functions.
• Security Concerns: If not handled properly, PHP code may be susceptible to security vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). Developers need to be cautious and follow best practices to secure PHP applications.
• Performance: While PHP performs well for many web applications, it may not be as fast as some compiled languages like C or Java. However, advancements and optimizations in recent versions have improved performance.
• Lack of Modern Features: Compared to newer languages, PHP may lack some modern language features. However, recent versions of PHP have introduced improvements and features to address this concern.
• Scalability Challenges: PHP can face challenges when it comes to scaling large and complex applications. Developers may need to adopt additional tools or frameworks to address scalability issues.
• Not Suitable for Large-Scale Applications: While PHP is suitable for small to medium-sized projects, it might not be the best choice for extremely large and complex applications where more structured languages might be preferred.
• Limited Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Support: Although PHP supports OOP, its implementation has been criticized for not being as robust as in some other languages. However, recent versions have introduced improvements to enhance OOP capabilities.

Please Login to comment...

Similar reads.

• Web Technologies

Improve your Coding Skills with Practice

What kind of Experience do you want to share?

• PHP Tutorial

PHP - Introduction

• PHP - Installation
• PHP - History
• PHP - Features
• PHP - Syntax
• PHP - Hello World
• PHP - Comments
• PHP - Variables
• PHP - Echo/Print
• PHP - var_dump
• PHP - $ and $$ Variables
• PHP - Constants
• PHP - Magic Constants
• PHP - Data Types
• PHP - Type Casting
• PHP - Type Juggling
• PHP - Strings
• PHP - Boolean
• PHP - Integers
• PHP - Files & I/O
• PHP - Maths Functions
• PHP - Heredoc & Nowdoc
• PHP - Compound Types
• PHP - File Include
• PHP - Date & Time
• PHP - Scalar Type Declarations
• PHP - Return Type Declarations
• PHP Operators
• PHP - Operators
• PHP - Arithmatic Operators
• PHP - Comparison Operators
• PHP - Logical Operators
• PHP - Assignment Operators
• PHP - String Operators
• PHP - Array Operators
• PHP - Conditional Operators
• PHP - Spread Operator
• PHP - Null Coalescing Operator
• PHP - Spaceship Operator
• PHP Control Statements
• PHP - Decision Making
• PHP - If…Else Statement
• PHP - Switch Statement
• PHP - Loop Types
• PHP - For Loop
• PHP - Foreach Loop
• PHP - While Loop
• PHP - Do…While Loop
• PHP - Break Statement
• PHP - Continue Statement
• PHP - Arrays
• PHP - Indexed Array
• PHP - Associative Array
• PHP - Multidimensional Array
• PHP - Array Functions
• PHP - Constant Arrays
• PHP Functions
• PHP - Functions
• PHP - Function Parameters
• PHP - Call by value
• PHP - Call by Reference
• PHP - Default Arguments
• PHP - Named Arguments
• PHP - Variable Arguments
• PHP - Returning Values
• PHP - Passing Functions
• PHP - Recursive Functions
• PHP - Type Hints
• PHP - Variable Scope
• PHP - Strict Typing
• PHP - Anonymous Functions
• PHP - Arrow Functions
• PHP - Variable Functions
• PHP - Local Variables
• PHP - Global Variables
• PHP Superglobals
• PHP - Superglobals
• PHP - $GLOBALS
• PHP - $_SERVER
• PHP - $_REQUEST
• PHP - $_POST
• PHP - $_GET
• PHP - $_FILES
• PHP - $_ENV
• PHP - $_COOKIE
• PHP - $_SESSION
• PHP File Handling
• PHP - File Handling
• PHP - Open File
• PHP - Read File
• PHP - Write File
• PHP - File Existence
• PHP - Download File
• PHP - Copy File
• PHP - Append File
• PHP - Delete File
• PHP - Handle CSV File
• PHP - File Permissions
• PHP - Create Directory
• PHP - Listing Files
• Object Oriented PHP
• PHP - Object Oriented Programming
• PHP - Classes and Objects
• PHP - Constructor and Destructor
• PHP - Access Modifiers
• PHP - Inheritance
• PHP - Class Constants
• PHP - Abstract Classes
• PHP - Interfaces
• PHP - Traits
• PHP - Static Methods
• PHP - Static Properties
• PHP - Namespaces
• PHP - Object Iteration
• PHP - Encapsulation
• PHP - Final Keyword
• PHP - Overloading
• PHP - Cloning Objects
• PHP - Anonymous Classes
• PHP Web Development
• PHP - Web Concepts
• PHP - Form Handling
• PHP - Form Validation
• PHP - Form Email/URL
• PHP - Complete Form
• PHP - File Inclusion
• PHP - GET & POST
• PHP - File Uploading
• PHP - Cookies
• PHP - Sessions
• PHP - Session Options
• PHP - Sending Emails
• PHP - Sanitize Input
• PHP - Post-Redirect-Get (PRG)
• PHP - Flash Messages
• PHP - AJAX Introduction
• PHP - AJAX Search
• PHP - AJAX XML Parser
• PHP - AJAX Auto Complete Search
• PHP - AJAX RSS Feed Example
• PHP - XML Introduction
• PHP - Simple XML Parser
• PHP - SAX Parser Example
• PHP - DOM Parser Example
• PHP Login Example
• PHP - Login Example
• PHP - Facebook and Paypal Integration
• PHP - Facebook Login
• PHP - Paypal Integration
• PHP - MySQL Login
• PHP Advanced
• PHP - MySQL
• PHP.INI File Configuration
• PHP - Array Destructuring
• PHP - Coding Standard
• PHP - Regular Expression
• PHP - Error Handling
• PHP - Try…Catch
• PHP - Bugs Debugging
• PHP - For C Developers
• PHP - For PERL Developers
• PHP - Frameworks
• PHP - Core PHP vs Frame Works
• PHP - Design Patterns
• PHP - Filters
• PHP - Callbacks
• PHP - Exceptions
• PHP - Special Types
• PHP - Hashing
• PHP - Encryption
• PHP - is_null() Function
• PHP - System Calls
• PHP - HTTP Authentication
• PHP - Swapping Variables
• PHP - Closure::call()
• PHP - Filtered unserialize()
• PHP - IntlChar
• PHP - CSPRNG
• PHP - Expectations
• PHP - Use Statement
• PHP - Integer Division
• PHP - Deprecated Features
• PHP - Removed Extensions & SAPIs
• PHP - FastCGI Process
• PHP - PDO Extension
• PHP - Built-In Functions
• PHP Useful Resources
• PHP - Questions & Answers
• PHP - Quick Guide
• PHP - Useful Resources
• PHP - Discussion
• Selected Reading
• UPSC IAS Exams Notes
• Developer's Best Practices
• Questions and Answers
• Effective Resume Writing
• HR Interview Questions
• Computer Glossary

PHP started out as a small open source project that evolved as more and more people found out how useful it was. Rasmus Lerdorf released the first version of PHP way back in 1994. Initially, PHP was supposed to be an abbreviation for "Personal Home Page", but it now stands for the recursive initialism "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor".

Lerdorf began PHP development in 1993 by writing several Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs in C, which he used to maintain in his personal homepage. Later on, He extended them to work with web forms and to communicate with databases. This implementation of PHP was "Personal Home Page/Forms Interpreter" or PHP/FI.

Today, PHP is the world’s most popular server-side programming language for building web applications. Over the years, it has gone through successive revisions and versions.

PHP Versions

PHP was developed by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 as a simple set of CGI binaries written in C. He called this suite of scripts "Personal Home Page Tools". It can be regarded as PHP version 1.0.

In April 1996, Rasmus introduced PHP/FI. Included built-in support for DBM, mSQL, and Postgres95 databases, cookies, user-defined function support. PHP/FI was given the version 2.0 status.

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor – PHP 3.0 version came about when Zeev Suraski and Andi Gutmans rewrote the PHP parser and acquired the present-day acronym. It provided a mature interface for multiple databases, protocols and APIs, object-oriented programming support, and consistent language syntax.

PHP 4.0 was released in May 2000 powered by Zend Engine. It had support for many web servers, HTTP sessions, output buffering, secure ways of handling user input and several new language constructs.

PHP 5.0 was released in July 2004. It is mainly driven by its core, the Zend Engine 2.0 with a new object model and dozens of other new features. PHP's development team includes dozens of developers and others working on PHP-related and supporting projects such as PEAR, PECL, and documentation.

PHP 7.0 was released in Dec 2015. This was originally dubbed PHP next generation (phpng). Developers reworked Zend Engine is called Zend Engine 3. Some of the important features of PHP 7 include its improved performance, reduced memory usage, Return and Scalar Type Declarations and Anonymous Classes.

PHP 8.0 was released on 26 November 2020. This is a major version having many significant improvements from its previous versions. One standout feature is Just-in-time compilation (JIT) that can provide substantial performance improvements. The latest version of PHP is 8.2.8, released on July 4th, 2023.

PHP Application Areas

PHP is one of the most widely used language over the web. Here are some of the application areas of PHP −

PHP is a server-side scripting language that is embedded in HTML. It is used to manage dynamic content, databases, session tracking, even build entire e-commerce sites. Although it is especially suited to web development, you can also build desktop standalone applications as PHP also has a command-line interface. You can use PHP-GTK extension to build GUI applications in PHP.

PHP is widely used for building web applications, but you are not limited to output only HTML. PHP's ouput abilities include rich file types, such as images or PDF files, encrypting data, and sending emails. You can also output easily any text, such as JSON or XML.

PHP is a cross-platform language, capable of running on all major operating system platforms and with most of the web server programs such as Apache, IIS, lighttpd and nginx. PHP also supports other services using protocols such as LDAP, IMAP, SNMP, NNTP, POP3, HTTP, COM, etc.

Here are some more important features of PHP −

PHP performs system functions. It can create, open, read, write, and close the files.

PHP can handle forms. It can gather data from files, save data to a file, through email you can send data, return data to the user.

You add, delete, modify elements within your database through PHP.

Access cookies variables and set cookies.

Using PHP, you can restrict users to access some pages of your website.

It can encrypt data.

PHP provides a large number of reusable classes and libraries are available on "PEAR" and "Composer". PEAR (PHP Extension and Application Repository) is a distribution system for reusable PHP libraries or classes. "Composer" is a dependency management tool in PHP.

An Introduction to the Laravel PHP Framework

Share this article

Key Takeaways

What is laravel, a brief history of the laravel php framework, the purpose of laravel, authentication, authorization, eloquent orm, database migrations, validations, notifications and email, file storage, task scheduling, laravel packages, how laravel compares with other php web frameworks, laravel faqs.

In this article, we’ll get acquainted with the Laravel PHP framework, exploring what Laravel is, its history, its purpose, and we’ll examine some of its key components and features.

• Introduction to Laravel’s Features and Benefits : Laravel is a comprehensive PHP web application framework known for its expressive syntax, robust features, and developer-friendly environment. It simplifies web development by offering modular architecture, built-in tools, and extensive functionality for both simple and complex web applications.
• Key Functionalities and Developer Experience in Laravel : The framework prioritizes an expressive and modular approach, enhancing developer experience with detailed documentation, easy-to-use syntax, and a focus on security. Laravel’s extensibility allows for custom package creation and integration with third-party libraries, providing a versatile platform for web development.
• Laravel’s Comprehensive Toolkit for Web Development : Laravel offers a wide array of built-in features such as Eloquent ORM for database interaction, simple yet powerful authentication and authorization systems, database migrations for schema version control, extensive validation rules, and integrated testing tools. These features, along with Laravel’s ability to handle notifications, file storage, job queues, and task scheduling, make it a highly capable and flexible choice for PHP web development.

Laravel Breeze

Laravel spark.

Laravel is considered by many to be the default framework for creating PHP-based websites and web applications at scale. It has become one of the most popular (if not the most popular) PHP web application frameworks due to its elegant and functional syntax, extensive features, and developer-friendly approach.

Laravel provides developers with a robust toolkit for building all sorts of web applications (from simple web pages to complex enterprise platforms) rapidly and efficiently. It aims to simplify the development process by offering an expressive syntax, modular architecture, and a wide range of built-in features.

Laravel’s powerful ecosystem makes it an ideal choice for developing both simple and complex web applications.

Taylor Otwell released Laravel in 2011 as a personal project. His goal was to improve on CodeIgniter — which, at the time, was a well known and widely used framework. He aimed to address some of the limitations he encountered in CodeIgniter and to incorporate modern PHP features and best practices.

After several iterations, Taylor open-sourced Laravel under the MIT License, making it freely available to the developer community. The Laravel framework quickly gained traction and garnered a dedicated following due to its syntax, features, and ease of use.

Laravel’s popularity continued to rise with each subsequent release. This open-source PHP framework adopted a regular release cycle, introducing new features, enhancements, and bug fixes to keep up with the evolving needs of the web development community as well as the several improvements the PHP language had during that period.

The Laravel community also played a significant role in the Laravel framework’s growth and success. A vibrant community of developers actively began to to contribute to Laravel’s development , documentation , and ecosystem. This collaborative effort has continued to solidify Laravel’s position as the leading open-source PHP framework to this day.

Laravel’s primary purpose is to simplify the development process and make it more efficient and enjoyable for the developer. It achieves this by offering a very functional and well-designed syntax, along with a wide range of tools, and by encouraging PHP and web development best practices. Laravel’s philosophy revolves around the following key principles:

• Expressive Syntax. Laravel aims to provide a simple, clean, and expressive syntax that allows developers to write code that’s both readable, maintainable, and efficient.
• Modularity. The Laravel framework is designed with a modular architecture, allowing developers to use specific components independently or together to build applications of different complexities.
• Developer Experience. Laravel prioritizes the developer’s experience by providing a friendly community, detailed documentation, and built-in tools that enhance productivity and ease of development.
• Security. Laravel has a focus on security and includes features like CSRF protection, SQL injection prevention, and secure authentication and authorization mechanisms out of the box.
• Extensibility. Developers can extend Laravel’s core functionality by creating custom packages and integrating third-party libraries.

Together with the common features we can find in most PHP frameworks — such as routing and templating — Laravel provides a deep array of other functionalities out of the box. Let’s have a look at some of the most important ones, and also see how they’re implemented in the Laravel framework.

Authentication is crucial for web applications, allowing users to access secure areas and perform actions based on their roles through authorization (more on that later). Writing an authentication system from scratch can be like re-inventing the wheel, and that’s why Laravel provides a very convenient way to implement user authentication out of the box:

In this example, we’ve shown a simplified version of a user registration controller method. Laravel’s built-in validation and hashing mechanisms make it easy to handle user registration securely without the need to re-write all that code and expose a web app to possible security vulnerabilities.

Authorization is the process of determining what actions a user is allowed to perform within the application. Laravel’s authorization features work hand in hand with authentication and provide a straightforward way to define and manage user permissions:

In this example, we’re using Laravel’s authorization functionality to check if the authenticated user can update a specific post. Laravel’s policies and gates allow web developers to encapsulate authorization logic within dedicated classes, enhancing code organization and maintainability.

An ORM is a vital component of modern PHP frameworks.

ORM stands for object-relational mapping . It’s a programming technique that allows developers to interact with a relational database using object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts and principles. ORM serves as a bridge between the application’s object-oriented code and the relational database, enabling web developers to work with data more naturally and intuitively without the need to worry about which database engine is running in the background.

Eloquent is Laravel’s implementation of the active record pattern (software design pattern used in object-oriented programming to represent data stored in a relational database as objects), which simplifies database interaction and management by using a more expressive syntax:

Eloquent allows web developers to interact with the database using PHP classes and provides various methods for performing common database operations like querying, inserting, updating, and deleting records.

Database migrations enable developers to version control the database schema and easily share changes with other team members:

Never trust data inserted by the user! Validations are essential for ensuring that data submitted by users meets specific criteria before it’s processed or stored:

Laravel provides a convenient way to validate incoming data using form requests or direct validation methods, reducing the boilerplate code needed for data validation. Laravel has over 90 powerful, built-in validation rules!

Laravel’s notification system enables us to send notifications to users via various channels, including email:

With notifications, we can easily notify users about events such as password reset requests, order confirmations, or any other custom notifications our web app requires.

Laravel provides a simple and consistent API for working with file systems, supporting local storage, Amazon S3, and other cloud storage services:

This feature allows developers to straightforwardly manage file uploads, downloads, and storage, abstracting away the complexities of dealing with different storage options.

Job queues allow us to defer time-consuming tasks — such as sending emails or processing data — to be executed asynchronously:

By using job queues, we can improve the performance and responsiveness of our application, as time-consuming tasks are offloaded to a separate queue that can be processed later by a worker process.

Laravel’s task scheduling feature enables us to automate the execution of certain tasks at specific intervals:

In this example, we schedule the inspire Artisan command to run hourly and a custom job ( SendDailyReport ) to be executed every day at 23:55. This feature is particularly useful for performing periodic tasks, like sending daily emails or clearing temporary data. By using Laravel task scheduling, we effectively eliminate the need for relying on lower-level mechanisms like cron jobs.

Laravel comes with a comprehensive testing suite , allowing developers to write unit tests, feature tests, and integration tests effectively:

Laravel’s testing tools facilitate writing tests that ensure our web application behaves as expected, catching bugs and regressions early in the development process.

Overt time, Laravel has become renowned for its packages. Laravel made it easy for the developer to implement things like authentication, billing, CRM features, and more. Some of the best packages ended up being official Laravel releases and are now an integral part of the Laravel ecosystem. The best known of them are Laravel Spark and Laravel Breeze.

Laravel Breeze is a starter kit for building Laravel applications with basic authentication. It provides a simple and customizable way to set up user registration, login, password reset, and email verification features.

Breeze is a great tool for projects that require basic authentication without the need for complex features. It uses Laravel’s Blade templating engine for views and Tailwind CSS for styling, making it easy to customize the appearance of our apps.

Laravel Spark is a more comprehensive solution that extends beyond basic authentication. It’s designed for rapidly launching subscription-based SaaS applications.

Spark offers features like team management, subscription billing, user roles, and more. It comes with a Vue.js frontend and integrates with Stripe for payment processing.

Laravel Spark significantly speeds up the development of subscription-based web applications by providing pre-built functionality and UI components.

Both Laravel Breeze and Laravel Spark are designed to enhance developer productivity and simplify the process of building common web application features. They streamline the process of building and launching web applications with Laravel.

Finally, let’s have a look at how Laravel compares with other frameworks. PHP has a vibrant framework scene, with multiple quality products being developed and continuously improved.

Laravel is a powerful and versatile open-source PHP web application framework that has revolutionized web app development. In this article, we’ve introduced Laravel, explored its history and purpose, and dived into some of its essential features.

From authentication and authorization to eloquent ORM, database migrations, validations, notifications, file storage, job queues, task scheduling, and testing, Laravel offers a well-rounded toolkit for building modern web applications. The Laravel framework’s expressive syntax and developer-friendly approach make it a preferred choice for developers worldwide seeking a productive and enjoyable web development experience.

Whether you’re a seasoned Laravel developer or new to this framework, exploring its features and capabilities will undoubtedly enhance your web development projects and enable you to create robust and dynamic applications with ease. So dive in, experiment, and leverage the power of Laravel to build exceptional web applications!

Let’s end by answering some frequently asked questions about Laravel.

Laravel is a free, open-source PHP web framework used for building web applications and APIs. It follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern.

Why should I use Laravel?

Laravel simplifies common tasks like routing, authentication, and database operations, making web development faster and more efficient. It also has a large and active community, which means you can find a lot of resources and packages to extend its functionality.

How do I install Laravel?

You can install Laravel using tools like Docker or Composer. With Composer, run composer global require laravel/installer to install the Laravel installer globally. Then you can create a new Laravel project using laravel new project-name .

What is Artisan in Laravel?

Artisan is the command-line tool that comes with Laravel. It provides a wide range of commands for tasks like generating boilerplate code, running migrations, and managing the application.

What is Eloquent in Laravel?

Eloquent is Laravel’s built-in ORM (object-relational mapping) system. It allows you to interact with your database using an elegant, expressive syntax, making database operations easier and more readable.

How does Laravel handle authentication?

Laravel provides a built-in authentication system that includes registration, login, password reset, and more. You can scaffold these features with a single Artisan command.

What is middleware in Laravel?

Middleware is a way to filter HTTP requests that enter your application. It can be used for tasks like authentication, logging, and modifying incoming requests or outgoing responses.

What is Blade in Laravel?

Blade is Laravel’s templating engine. It provides a clean, readable syntax for writing views in Laravel applications, including features like template inheritance and control structures.

How does Laravel handle database migrations?

Laravel’s migration system allows you to version-control your database schema. You can create and modify tables using migration files and roll back changes if needed.

Can I use Laravel for building APIs?

Yes, Laravel is excellent for building APIs. It provides tools for building RESTful APIs and supports API authentication using tokens or OAuth.

Is Laravel suitable for large-scale applications?

Yes, Laravel is suitable for large-scale applications. It has features like caching, task scheduling, and support for multiple database systems, making it capable of handling complex and high-traffic projects.

What is Laravel Nova?

Laravel Nova is a premium administration panel for Laravel applications. It provides a simple way to manage your application’s data, users, and settings through a web interface.

How can I deploy a Laravel application?

You can deploy a Laravel application on various hosting platforms, including shared hosting, VPS, or cloud services like AWS, Azure, or Heroku. You typically need to configure your web server, set up environment variables, and run Composer and Artisan commands.

Is Laravel free to use?

Yes, Laravel is open-source and free to use. However, some components, like Laravel Nova, are paid.

Cláudio Ribeiro is a software developer, traveler, and writer from Lisbon. He's the author of the book An IDE Called Vim . When he is not developing some cool feature at Kununu he is probably backpacking somewhere in the world or messing with some obscure framework.

Toll-Free US & Canada 24/7:

1-770-659-7014

As a precautionary health measure for our support specialists in light of COVID-19, our phone support option will be temporarily unavailable. However, orders are processed online as usual and communication via live chat, messenger, and email is conducted 24/7. There are no delays with processing new and current orders.

Essay PHP and MySQL

Look through this Essay PHP and MySQL created by BookWormLab!

Compare ready samples with your papers and improve them

Want us to make a unique IT Management Essay Samples for you?

People looking for information on PHP scripting for their websites look for articles like an essay php and mysql to help them understand the concepts involved in PHP scripting. A custom essay php and mysql will help people understand how to use PHP scripting to generate dynamic pages. There are a lot of users out there who aren’t familiar with the use of PHP scripting in web designing and an essay php and mysql will be of greatest use to them.

For a school project or for your website essay php and mysql enlightening the reader on the technical concepts will be a winner. Essay php and mysql writing is made simpler by expert writers who help you develop your concept. Any essay writing is very useful for us.

There are so many things that you can write about in a PHP essay. For example, in the PHP essay, you could write about what PHP originally stood for – personal home page. Only later it was changed to hypertext processor. You could also write in your PHP essay about how PHP scripting is slowly replacing html coding.

If you are new to the subject of PHP scripting, then you may have to put in extra effort into your essay php and mysql writing. This may involve a lot of research and analysis. You have to become an expert on the subject yourself before you write a essay php and mysql. When so much has to be done with a PHP essay there is possibility to miss out on the content or the presentation part. If you could research the topic and get an idea then our professional writers can help you present those ideas in a well-written PHP essay. If not, people will see through your essay php and mysql that it lacks in richness of content and presentation of the material.

When you write a PHP essay you must make sure that the reader will find it easy to read and make sense out of it. The PHP essay text must be well presented and should be as though you are talking to the reader. This will make sure that anyone who reads the PHP essay will continue on till the end. The language used in the PHP essay must be well polished. With any of these writing issues you can find reliable help from our experts for your PHP essay.

Plagiarism-free

• Real Estate Essay
• How to Make Your Essay Longer?
• How to Write a GRE Essay
• Sample Personal Statement
• The Glorious Rebirth of BookwormLab

Related Essay Samples

Native Americans vs. Europeans Essay While it is impossible to say with any certainty whether any set of historical facts happened “inevitably,” it does seem highly unlikely that Europeans and Indians would have, under any circumstances, been able to fully cooperate. Native...

Essay about communism is the medium that enables the present generation to get an idea of what the concept meant and what relevance does it have in the modern world of today.  Essay about communism should trace the origin of communism to...

The robot essay should present the robot not just as physical entities, but also with the modern technological advancements. The robot essay should speak about the software agents known as bots. Great robot essay is easy to right! Find out how +...

How to Build a Simple PHP Website

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

8 Techniques I Use to Capture Stunning Panorama Photos on My Smartphone

I tried window tiling in macos sequoia and it’s a game-changer, 5 ways using linux improved my windows experience.

Want to learn how to build a basic website? Once you might have started with HTML, but these days the best solution is PHP. While you'll need some knowledge of HTML to get started, PHP has become the optimum choice for building websites, both static and dynamic.

Looking for answers to the question of how to develop a website using PHP would be a very good way to get started. The best step you can take in your PHP learning journey is to develop a website using PHP.

Why Choose PHP for Website Development?

Various options have been available for web development over the years. It started with plain HTML, then HTML with CSS embedded or a CSS file reference. When dynamic websites came along, there were two main choices: ASP (later ASP.NET) and PHP.

According to figures (such as this W3Techs survey ), PHP web development is far more popular, with almost 82 percent of websites using PHP as a server-side programming language. Compare this with just under 16 percent using ASP.NET.

It seems unlikely that ASP.NET will exist further in any official capacity, at least not as a web technology. PHP (a recursive acronym for PHP Hypertext Preprocessor) has proven more successful, mainly thanks to easier integration with Linux.

As Linux open-source operating systems run on most web servers, this should not come as a surprise.

What You'll Need to Build a PHP Website

Before starting, be sure you have a plain text editor or PHP-ready development environment installed. You can start coding PHP with a tool as simple as Windows Notepad. Examples found in this tutorial have been written in Notepad++. You can use any text editor you feel comfortable with to write your PHP website codes.

You should also have a PHP web server to upload your files to. This might be a remote server, or a local computer with a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) or WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP) environment installed. If you're using Windows, follow this WAMP installation guide to get started.

Finally, you'll need an FTP program to upload your files to your web server. Alternatively, you can manually drag and drop your files by going directly to the www folder of your PHP web server. However, in cases where you will manage your site remotely, it may be advantageous to use the FTP program.

Understand Syntax to Code a Simple Web Page Using PHP Code

The basic syntax for PHP uses a set of angled brackets, with each function ending with a semi-colon, like this:

In terms of web pages, almost every use of PHP relies on the echo statement. This instructs the browser to output the text and content in the quotes. For example:

Note that the HTML is also included within the quotes. The output for this would typically appear as:

How to Create a Website Using PHP: Get the Structure Right

Whatever code you're writing your website with, you will need to know the structure of the site before proceeding. This tutorial will show you how to create a single page from reusable PHP files. These might be used to make additional pages, or you may choose a different approach.

Whatever shape you foresee the site developing, take the time to jot down a quick plan on a piece of paper. You can then refer to this, perhaps to check the intended content, or see what page to link it to.

Our basic PHP website is going to feature a home page, including biographical information and some images.

For this simple PHP website, you're going to create a single PHP page populated by content from three HTML pages. The index.php file you create can then be edited by adjusting the words and images from the original HTML files.

The code examples shown below are screenshots. You'll find the original code in my GitHub repository , which is free for anyone to download.

Read on to learn how to develop a website using PHP step-by-step.

Make a PHP Website: The Header

To create a website using PHP, you'll need to construct three web pages. These are based on the basic structure of the header, body, and footer.

As you can imagine, the header contains the header information. You can also add the CSS references and standard meta tags you want to use in this field.

Start by creating a file called header.html then add the necessary header information.

For this example, we've provided a basic CSS file, which you will see is referenced in its own /css/ directory. This file will be called when the page loads in your browser and apply the required font and layout.

Put Content in Your PHP Web Page Body

Every web page consists of a content section known as the "body". This is the part of a page that you read—what you're reading now is the body of this page.

Create a file called body.html and add the information you want to include on the page. I've included biographical details from my MakeUseOf author page , but you can add whatever you like.

Simple PHP Website Code for the Footer

The footer section of the web page is next. Create this as footer.html and add some content.

Consider including copyright information to safeguard your work or, even better, incorporate a collection of valuable links to enrich the experience of every visitor to your page.

It might be something like this:

With the code added, save the file.

Putting Your Simple PHP Website Together

With three separate HTML files in /html/ you can use PHP echo to compile them into a single page.

Create a new PHP file called index.php with the following three lines in it:

Save, upload to your server, then browse to index.php . You should see the completed web page in your browser. Keep in mind that the actual PHP file you have open in your browser consists of just three lines.

Finally, you can add a little PHP flourish with the final line. Include a copyright notice, with an always-updated year:

This will appear in the index.php file following the footer. Notice how the echo date("Y") statement displays the current year in four digits. You can change how this is displayed by referring to the official PHP documentation . For example, a lower-case "y" would display the year in two-digit format, rather than four.

Use CSS to position and style it, as you would with any other element. Find the CSS for this project in the GitHub repository, along with the other simple PHP website code.

Well done—you've just created your first PHP website from scratch. Now it's time to look at more PHP website examples to improve your skills.

Is PHP the Best Choice for Coding Websites?

Now you know how to develop a PHP website, you should know that it isn't the only way to develop websites. Many frameworks exist already for dynamic, database-driven web experiences, there's JavaScript and related technologies, and software like Adobe Dreamweaver.

However, if you're looking to get started with PHP web development, it's smart to have an appreciation of the basics. If you understand the website building blocks of HTML, CSS, and PHP, you're well on the way to success.

• Programming
• Web Development

PHP Website Examples: 15 Sites That Got It Right

Published: January 04, 2024

More than 77% of websites use PHP as their server-side programming language, and job listings for IT professionals with PHP expertise have been on a steady climb for the past few years — in the first 10 months of 2020 alone, demand for PHP developers rose 834%4 .

The result? PHP is now one of the most common server-side languages used across the web, and adoption is still growing. The challenge? While PHP is powerful, it’s not enough to simply deploy this coding framework — instead, companies need to leverage PHP in a way that plays to its strengths and makes best use of its potential.

Rather than delivering a long-winded, snoozing explanation on PHP best practices, we thought it would be easier to show you what great PHP can do for websites with a look at 15 sites that are doing it right.

Let’s get started.

What is PHP?

Before diving into our list, it’s worth a brief stopover to discuss the basics of PHP.

PHP was built by Rasmus Lerdorf as an open-source, server-side scripting language in 1994. While the acronym originally stood for “personal home page,” broad adoption saw the uptake of a new moniker: Hypertext processor.

Lerdorf designed the language to be intuitive and easy-to-use, in turn making it possible for users to quickly extract, display, and store relevant data on a webpage. PHP includes a host of extensions that streamline the process of integration and deployment, and the development community remains strong — the latest version of PHP (8.1.5) was released on April 14, 2022 .

So how do businesses turn server-side PHP code into solid web design? Here are 15 examples of sites doing right with PHP.

15 Best PHP Website Examples

1. wordpress.

This popular blog and content management system (CMS) is written in PHP and paired with database tools such as MySQL or MariaDB to store and retrieve information. PHP code in the CMS tool interacts with databases, obtains key information, and displays it as static HTML elements.

What we like:

Leaning into PHP makes it possible for users to easily drag-and-drop UI components or create their own templates.

2. Facebook

With more than 2.9 billion users worldwide, Facebook needs web and mobile sites capable of handling consistently massive traffic volumes. The site’s entire codebase was written in PHP by founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz in 2004, and in 2010 the company deployed HipHop for PHP which made it possible to translate any source code into the source code of another programming language.

Still reliant on PHP today, Facebook helped kick off widespread adoption of this language.

Popular online handcraft and furniture retailer, Etsy, is one of the top PHP ecommerce sites in the United States. Using HHVM (HipHop virtual machine) implementation for its documentation allowed the company to significantly increase page speeds for its 45 million users, helping drive the site’s steady growth over the last few years.

To help identify potential issues between PHP versions on its website, Etsy deployed Phan, a static analyzer tool, which automatically detects and reports incompatibilities.

4. Wikipedia

Massively popular online global encyclopedia website, Wikipedia, uses PHP to power its host of informational pages. With more than 585 new articles added per day, PHP helps Wikipedia keep pace.

Combining HVHM with PHP makes it possible for Wikipedia to reduce page loading times for users worldwide.

Communication and collaboration tool, Slack, has been using PHP since its inception in 2009. The company is committed to optimizing PHP use across its software and services, which makes sense given the high value Slack places on efficiency and simplicity.

Slack’s work with PHP has allowed the company to quickly detect program defects, speed up request return times, and reduce workflow inefficiencies.

A regular generator of hilarious memes and odd online content, Tumblr has gone through several ownership changes over the past few years, but what remains consistent is the site’s use of PHP. For the past six years, Tumblr has helped users better navigate their favorite content and get their daily dose of emerging internet interests.

Features that help boost Tumblr performance include return-type declarations and scalar-type hints, which make it possible to specify exactly what type of parameters PHP functions can accept.

7. MailChimp

MailChimp helps companies send millions of emails every day, and its mail system is entirely PHP-based. The benefit? The code framework can handle the massive volume of bulk emails sent day after day without sacrificing performance.

MailChimp has doubled down on its use of PHP — the company uses PHP for everything on the development side of its application and website.

Yahoo started as a PHP-only site, which powered its Mail, Answers, and News segments. To compete with rival Google, the company made the move to a mixed programming language framework, but it’s PHP that gave Yahoo its strong start in the market.

While transitions to other code types are ongoing, PHP helped Yahoo develop strong account security, user-friendly templates, and reliable policy frameworks.

CMS Drupal is used by more than a million websites worldwide and has increased its use of PHP over the past few years to help boost site speed and efficiency. Its most recent version — Drupal 8 — is entirely based on PHP.

Drupal’s newest version uses a PHP framework known as Symfony, which allows the CMS to rebuild its core code framework, improve API integration, and expand configuration options.

10. Spotify

Cloud music platform Spotify is powered by PHP. Continued use and improvement of PHP code across Spotify makes it possible for users to access millions of songs with a simple search and has made this platform one of the most popular music services worldwide.

Using Symfony2, Spotify reduced the amount of time required for users to load dynamic elements during search, making it easier for them to get to their music faster.

11. Magento

Ecommerce platform Magento — now known as Adobe Commerce — is all about creating a streamlined and simple experience for online shoppers. PHP provided the foundation for this experience, and the site still uses the basic framework of PHP for its object-oriented applications.

Written in PHP, this open-source platform also leverages other PHP frameworks such as Symfony and Laminas to power its sites.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer leverages Laravel — a PHP framework — to help manage its technology stack. With the company now a household name thanks to its efforts to help end the pandemic, an optimized site is more important than ever.

Laravel makes it possible for Pfizer’s web developers to quickly update product lists and details and ensure code is performing optimally.

13. Peloton

Fitness technology provider, Peloton, also experienced massive success during the pandemic. As a result, the company needed a way to ensure that its SaaS fitness app was capable of keeping pace with a growing, worldwide user base and PHP provided the framework.

PHP makes it possible for Peleton to regularly update its app for users worldwide with minimal workout disruptions or code conflicts.

Moodle is used by thousands of schools across the United States to help students achieve their academic goals. This learning management system (LMS) was built using PHP but also leverages CSS and JavaScript to deliver key functions.

While PHP forms the core of Moodle, its plugins are what set the LMS apart. The caveat? The performance of these plugins wouldn’t be possible without PHP.

Canva offers design-ready templates to more than 10 million users worldwide, making it easy for them to create great projects without breaking the bank. To streamline template search and delivery, Canva is built on PHP.

Canva was initially built on a PHP-only framework but eventually integrated Node.js to expand its feature set. Today, PHP is still used for the majority of Cavna’s backend workload.

Getting the Most From PHP

Put simply, PHP is designed to be simple. This server-side language was built to streamline the process of building and maintaining websites and — thanks to this focus — is now the most popular server-side solution used by small businesses and large enterprises alike.

When it comes to getting the most from PHP, there’s an easy rule: Keep it simple. Use the language as it was intended — to easily capture, display and store data — and pass that simplicity on to users. While other languages excel at other aspects of server- and client-side coding, PHP makes usability its priority and makes it a great choice for any website infrastructure.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

19 Examples of Bad Website Design in 2024 [+ What They Got Wrong]

15 Animated Cursor Effects You Can Code in HTML & CSS

25 Stunning Corporate Websites to Inspire Yours

Our 30 Favorite Virtual Assistant Examples for Inspiration

20 Best Filmmaker Website Examples We Love [+ How To Make Your Own]

Travel Website Design: Our 22 Favorites for 2023

The 25 Best Attorney Website Designs

31 Makeup Artist Website Design Examples We Love [+ How To Make Your Own]

10 Best Technology Website Designs in 2023

20 Retro Website Design Examples We Love [+ How To Make Your Own]

A free suite of content management tools for marketers and developers.

CMS Hub is flexible for marketers, powerful for developers, and gives customers a personalized, secure experience

Navigation Menu

Search code, repositories, users, issues, pull requests..., provide feedback.

We read every piece of feedback, and take your input very seriously.

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly.

To see all available qualifiers, see our documentation .

Here are 125 public repositories matching this topic...

Tecnickcom / tcexam.

TCExam is a CBA (Computer-Based Assessment) system (e-exam, CBT - Computer Based Testing) for universities, schools and companies, that enables educators and trainers to author, schedule, deliver, and report on surveys, quizzes, tests and exams.

• Updated Apr 20, 2024

jaantollander / Markdown-Templates

Templates for creating scientific, academic and technical documents using Markdown and Pandoc that support equations, code blocks, citations, Unicode symbols and vector graphics.

• Updated Apr 7, 2023

daijro / EssayGen

Essay generator

• Updated Apr 18, 2022

freesinger / density_peak_clustering

An optimized clustering framework for 'Clustering by fast search and find of density peaks' in Science 2014.

• Updated Jul 11, 2022

otacke / h5p-essay

experimental H5P content for automated feedback on texts

• Updated Jun 24, 2024

shlomif / what-you-should-know-about-automated-testing

What you should know about automated software testing

• Updated Feb 28, 2023

MinhasKamal / GRExercise

Free GRE Practice Environment (awa-analytical-essay-writing-ets-issue-argument-pool-calculator-gre-exercise)

• Updated Sep 30, 2022

Brett-Tech-Networking / Moradi-Notepad

📝 Premium Notepad Tool Developed For Windows OS

• Updated Nov 14, 2020

yujiachen-y / great-work-cn

【译】如何做出伟大工作

• Updated Aug 17, 2023

fragglet / eluhgunt

Simple and elegant CSS style

• Updated Feb 8, 2024

BenjaminKim / benjaminkim.github.io

• Updated Jun 14, 2024

Hiyoteam / ChatroomHistoryBook

A history books for Chinese chatrooms/channels on hack.chat.

• Updated Jan 15, 2024

CamjamPNG / school-work-done

make school easier with ai.

• Updated Jan 10, 2023

radian-software / mla-tex

Typeset your MLA papers in XeTeX

• Updated May 12, 2022

jayluxferro / Automatic-Essay-Grading-System

Automatic Essay Grading System

• Updated Nov 21, 2022

ADHIKSHA / Essay-Grading-IELTS

Online Essay Grading system using Django Frwamework, NLP, NLTK, Keras and many more.

• Updated Jul 6, 2023

realfish / laerhsif-essay

A collection of essays

• Updated Jan 5, 2024

askmrsinh / regression-aes

Automated Essay Scoring as NLP, regression problem.

• Updated Jun 28, 2024
• Jupyter Notebook

HLABZcc / Reserve-Protocol

Reserve Protocol Essay by HLABZcc® 📓 https://gitcoin.co/hlabzcc

• Updated Dec 14, 2022

Improve this page

Add a description, image, and links to the essay topic page so that developers can more easily learn about it.

Curate this topic

Add this topic to your repo

To associate your repository with the essay topic, visit your repo's landing page and select "manage topics."

PHP Tutorial

Php advanced, mysql database, php examples, php reference.

PHP is a server scripting language, and a powerful tool for making dynamic and interactive Web pages.

PHP is a widely-used, free, and efficient alternative to competitors such as Microsoft's ASP.

Easy Learning with "PHP Tryit"

With our online "PHP Tryit" editor, you can edit the PHP code, and click on a button to view the result.

Click on the "Try it Yourself" button to see how it works.

PHP Exercises

Many chapters in this tutorial end with an exercise where you can check you level of knowledge.

Advertisement

Learn by examples! This tutorial supplements all explanations with clarifying examples.

See All PHP Examples

PHP Quiz Test

Learn by taking a quiz! This quiz will give you a signal of how much you know, or do not know, about PHP.

Start PHP Quiz!

My Learning

Track your progress with the free "My Learning" program here at W3Schools.

Log in to your account, and start earning points!

This is an optional feature. You can study at W3Schools without using My Learning.

PHP References

W3Schools' PHP reference contains different categories of all PHP functions, keywords and constants, along with examples.

PHP Exam - Get Your Diploma!

Kickstart your career.

Get certified by completing the course

COLOR PICKER

Contact Sales

If you want to use W3Schools services as an educational institution, team or enterprise, send us an e-mail: [email protected]

Report Error

If you want to report an error, or if you want to make a suggestion, send us an e-mail: [email protected]

Top Tutorials

Top references, top examples, get certified.

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base

The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples

An academic essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis, and interpretation.

There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However, most essays at university level are argumentative — they aim to persuade the reader of a particular position or perspective on a topic.

The essay writing process consists of three main stages:

• Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.
• Writing : Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
• Revision:  Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Essay writing process, preparation for writing an essay, writing the introduction, writing the main body, writing the conclusion, essay checklist, lecture slides, frequently asked questions about writing an essay.

The writing process of preparation, writing, and revisions applies to every essay or paper, but the time and effort spent on each stage depends on the type of essay .

For example, if you’ve been assigned a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school class, you’ll probably spend the most time on the writing stage; for a college-level argumentative essay , on the other hand, you’ll need to spend more time researching your topic and developing an original argument before you start writing.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

Before you start writing, you should make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. There are a few key steps you can follow to make sure you’re prepared:

• Understand your assignment: What is the goal of this essay? What is the length and deadline of the assignment? Is there anything you need to clarify with your teacher or professor?
• Define a topic: If you’re allowed to choose your own topic , try to pick something that you already know a bit about and that will hold your interest.
• Do your research: Read  primary and secondary sources and take notes to help you work out your position and angle on the topic. You’ll use these as evidence for your points.
• Come up with a thesis:  The thesis is the central point or argument that you want to make. A clear thesis is essential for a focused essay—you should keep referring back to it as you write.
• Create an outline: Map out the rough structure of your essay in an outline . This makes it easier to start writing and keeps you on track as you go.

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to discuss, in what order, and what evidence you’ll use, you’re ready to start writing.

The introduction sets the tone for your essay. It should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. The introduction generally comprises 10–20% of the text.

1. Hook your reader

The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the hook. It might be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement emphasizing the relevance of the topic.

Let’s say we’re writing an essay about the development of Braille (the raised-dot reading and writing system used by visually impaired people). Our hook can make a strong statement about the topic:

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

2. Provide background on your topic

Next, it’s important to give context that will help your reader understand your argument. This might involve providing background information, giving an overview of important academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms. Don’t provide too much detail in the introduction—you can elaborate in the body of your essay.

3. Present the thesis statement

Next, you should formulate your thesis statement— the central argument you’re going to make. The thesis statement provides focus and signals your position on the topic. It is usually one or two sentences long. The thesis statement for our essay on Braille could look like this:

As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness.

4. Map the structure

In longer essays, you can end the introduction by briefly describing what will be covered in each part of the essay. This guides the reader through your structure and gives a preview of how your argument will develop.

The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by blind and visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Write your essay introduction

The body of your essay is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop your ideas. Its purpose is to present, interpret, and analyze the information and sources you have gathered to support your argument.

Length of the body text

The length of the body depends on the type of essay. On average, the body comprises 60–80% of your essay. For a high school essay, this could be just three paragraphs, but for a graduate school essay of 6,000 words, the body could take up 8–10 pages.

Paragraph structure

To give your essay a clear structure , it is important to organize it into paragraphs . Each paragraph should be centered around one main point or idea.

That idea is introduced in a  topic sentence . The topic sentence should generally lead on from the previous paragraph and introduce the point to be made in this paragraph. Transition words can be used to create clear connections between sentences.

After the topic sentence, present evidence such as data, examples, or quotes from relevant sources. Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall argument.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

See the full essay example

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

The conclusion is the final paragraph of an essay. It should generally take up no more than 10–15% of the text . A strong essay conclusion :

• Returns to your thesis
• Ties together your main points
• Shows why your argument matters

A great conclusion should finish with a memorable or impactful sentence that leaves the reader with a strong final impression.

What not to include in a conclusion

To make your essay’s conclusion as strong as possible, there are a few things you should avoid. The most common mistakes are:

• Including new arguments or evidence
• Undermining your arguments (e.g. “This is just one approach of many”)
• Using concluding phrases like “To sum up…” or “In conclusion…”

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Write your essay conclusion

Checklist: Essay

My essay follows the requirements of the assignment (topic and length ).

My introduction sparks the reader’s interest and provides any necessary background information on the topic.

My introduction contains a thesis statement that states the focus and position of the essay.

I use paragraphs to structure the essay.

I use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.

Each paragraph has a single focus and a clear connection to the thesis statement.

I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.

My conclusion doesn’t just repeat my points, but draws connections between arguments.

I don’t introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.

I have given an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information I got from another source.

I have included a reference page at the end of my essay, listing full details of all my sources.

My citations and references are correctly formatted according to the required citation style .

My essay has an interesting and informative title.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (e.g. font, page numbers, line spacing).

Your essay meets all the most important requirements. Our editors can give it a final check to help you submit with confidence.

Open Google Slides Download PowerPoint

An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Is this article helpful?

Other students also liked.

• How long is an essay? Guidelines for different types of essay
• How to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples
• How to conclude an essay | Interactive example

More interesting articles

• Checklist for academic essays | Is your essay ready to submit?
• Comparing and contrasting in an essay | Tips & examples
• Example of a great essay | Explanations, tips & tricks
• Generate topic ideas for an essay or paper | Tips & techniques
• How to revise an essay in 3 simple steps
• How to structure an essay: Templates and tips
• How to write a descriptive essay | Example & tips
• How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide
• How to write a narrative essay | Example & tips
• How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples
• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples
• How to write an argumentative essay | Examples & tips
• How to write an essay outline | Guidelines & examples
• How to write an expository essay
• How to write the body of an essay | Drafting & redrafting
• Kinds of argumentative academic essays and their purposes
• Organizational tips for academic essays
• The four main types of essay | Quick guide with examples
• Transition sentences | Tips & examples for clear writing

Get unlimited documents corrected

✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

LOCAL PHP DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT

Devserver allows you to fit your needs and allows you to setup a local server with the same characteristics as your production server (if you have one). You can develop locally anywhere (at home, at work, on your laptop...) thanks to the portability of the system.

• Ready-to-use! Download, install and code!
• Portable (usb key, memory stick, external hard drive...)
• Fully configurable (port, timezone, extensions...)
• For beginners, experts
• Start, stop, restart servers
• Direct access to files and folders
• Configuration files, error log, access log...
• Modular : add applications, versions...

ADDITIONAL MODULES

OTHER TOOLS FOR DEVELOPERS

Ahmad Bashir’s Urdu Essay Writing

احمد بشیر کی اُردو مضمون نگاری.

• Dr Riaz Ahmad Lecturer, Department of Urdu Govt. College University, Faisalabad
• Dr Rabia Sarfaraz Head of Urdu Department Govt. College University, Faisalabad

"Ahmad Bashir was a renowned journalist and a literary icon of Urdu. He wrote essays / articles and columns equally in English and Urdu. Among the various of his journalistic and literary facets, sketch-writing, novel-writing and editorial-writing are worth-mentioning. He got education in film-making from America, and then started film-making and direction in Pakistan. He produced few documentaries, and made the first and the last to date belly film of Pakistan "Chirree Kahaani" that achieved an award in belly film festival of Iran. He chose journalism for making his livelihood, and learnt journalism from Charagh Hassan Hassrat in the daily "Amroz". He was called the founder of Urdu feature-writing. He wrote his debut feature on Gaamma Pehalwaan. After the daily "Amroz", he started writing for the weekly "Qandeel". He never sticked long to a newspaper owing to his truthfulness and ideological thoughts. He was a staunch socialist and flag-bearer of social justice.

• Full Text PDF

Copyright (c) 2024 Dr Riaz Ahmad; Dr Rabia Sarfaraz

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

Noor e Tahqeeq , LGU is fully open access and licensed under  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . 

CC BY :  This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.

CC BY includes the following elements: BY  – Credit must be given to the creator

Noor eTahqeeq allows the authors to retain copyright under the CC-BY license . However, authors have to sign a form agreeing to the publication of their article under the  CC-BY license .

HEC Recognized Research Journal

Publication Fee : Rs. 10,000/-

After Accepting a Paper "10,000" Payment from the Author.

Indexations 

• For Readers
• For Authors
• For Librarians

Principal Contact

Department of Urdu

Lahore Garrison University, Lahore

2024’s violent tornado season has been one of the most active on record − a meteorologist explains the weather behind the outbreaks

Professor of Atmospheric Science, Iowa State University

Disclosure statement

William Gallus receives funding from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Iowa State University provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

View all partners

Spring 2024 was unnerving for people across large parts of the U.S. as tornado warnings and sirens sent them scrambling for safety.

More than 1,100 tornadoes were reported through May − a preliminary number but nearly twice the 30-year average at that point and behind only 2011 , when deadly tornado outbreaks tore across the southeastern U.S.

The U.S. experienced several multistate outbreaks in 2024. Tornadoes damaged homes from Texas to Minnesota and east to West Virginia and Georgia . They caused widespread destruction in several towns, including Greenfield, Iowa ; Westmoreland, Kansas ; and Bartlesville, Oklahoma . Barnsdall, Oklahoma, was hit twice in two months .

In May, at least one tornado occurred somewhere in the country almost every day .

What causes some years to have so many tornadoes? I’m a meteorologist who studies tornadoes and thunderstorms . Here’s what created the perfect conditions for these violent storms.

2 key tornado ingredients, on steroids

The hyperactive season has been due to an abundance of two key ingredients for tornadoes: wind shear and instability.

The jet stream − a band of strong upper-level winds that mostly blows west to east, flowing between warm air to its south and cool air to its north − plays an important role in how and where weather systems evolve, and in wind shear.

During April and May 2024 , the jet stream often dipped southward in the western U.S. before turning back to the northeast across the Plains. That’s a pattern favorable for producing tornadoes in the central U.S.

In the area east of the jet stream’s southern dip, air rises. That creates a strong low-pressure system, which causes winds near the ground to blow from a different direction than winds higher up, contributing to wind shear.

Making this year even more active, persistent record heat waves were common over Mexico and Texas, while the Rockies and far northern United States stayed cool. The sharp temperature difference created a stronger jet stream than normal, leading to strong changes in wind speed with elevation. As a result, wind shear has been on steroids.

The change in wind speed with elevation can cause air to have a rolling motion . The rapidly rising air in a thunderstorm can then tilt the rolling motion to create a spinning thunderstorm that can concentrate the spin into a tornado.

The Gulf of Mexico was also much warmer than normal , producing abundant heat and moisture that could be transported northward to fuel thunderstorms. That creates atmospheric instability , the other key ingredient for tornadoes.

El Niño’s weakening was a warning

This perfect combination of ingredients for tornadoes wasn’t a complete surprise.

El Niño and La Niña – opposing climate patterns centered in the Pacific Ocean – can affect winds and weather around the world. A 2016 study found that when El Niño is shifting to La Niña , the number of tornadoes in the central Plains and Upper Midwest is often larger than normal.

That’s exactly what was happening in spring 2024 . The tornadoes mostly occurred in the traditional Tornado Alley, from northern Texas to South Dakota, with an extension across the Corn Belt through Iowa and as far east as Ohio, matching the findings of that study.

How is tornado activity changing?

The active spring in the Great Plains was a bit unusual, however. Studies show a long-term trend of decreasing tornado numbers in this region and an increase in tornadoes farther east , near or just east of the Mississippi River.

That shift is consistent with what climate models suggest is likely to happen throughout the remainder of the century as global temperatures rise.

The expected decline in the number of tornadoes in the Plains is likely related to increasing heat over the high ground of the desert Southwest and Mexico. That heat flows over the Great Plains a few thousand feet above ground, creating a cap, or lid. The cap lets heat and moisture build up until it punches through to form a thunderstorm. This hot, moist air is why the central U.S. is home to the most violent tornadoes on Earth.

One theory is that, with climate change, the cap will likely be harder to break through, reducing the number of tornadoes in the Plains. At the same time, increasing heat and moisture elsewhere will fuel more tornadoes in the East.

Long-term trends and climate model predictions also suggest that more tornadoes are occurring during the cooler months , particularly in the Southeast . Tornadoes are also occurring on fewer days each year, but on the days when they do form, there is more likely to be an outbreak with several tornadoes

• Climate change
• Extreme weather
• Atmospheric science
• Thunderstorms
• El Niño Southern Oscillation
• Extreme storms

Lecturer in Indigenous Health (Identified)

Lecturer in Visual Art

PhD Scholarship

Senior Lecturer, HRM or People Analytics

Centre Director, Transformative Media Technologies

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

India Wins Cricket World Cup, Sealing Its Domination of the Sport

In India, cricket has become immensely profitable and a destination for the world’s best players. But a tournament victory had eluded it for many years.

By Mujib Mashal

Reporting from New Delhi

India won the men’s Cricket World Cup on Saturday, defeating South Africa to end a dry spell in tournament victories that had lasted over a decade, even as the nation was dominating the sport globally in other measures like talent, cash and influence.

The tournament was played across several Caribbean islands, with a few of the matches hosted in the United States, including at a pop-up stadium in New York. When the final, in Barbados, ended with India declared the champion, it was close to midnight back home, where joyful crowds poured into the streets across several cities.

“Maybe in a couple hours it will sink in, but it is a great feeling,” said Rohit Sharma, India’s captain, who took a tour of the stadium with his daughter propped on his shoulders to thank the crowd. “To cross the line — it feels great for everyone.”

It was a closely fought match, and a deeply emotional one for India, in part because many of its senior players, including Sharma, 37, were near the end of their careers. India last won the World Cup in T20, the shortest format of cricket, in 2007, when Sharma was just getting started. The top prize had also evaded Virat Kohli, 35, one of cricket’s most recognized icons. Rahul Dravid, India’s coach, had never won a World Cup during his long and illustrious career as a player.

All three men ended the night on a happy note, with Sharma and Kohli announcing their retirement from the fast-paced short form of the game. Dravid, who finished his stint as India’s coach, is normally a quiet, stoic presence. But after the win, he was screaming and celebrating.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .