PHP For Beginners, Ep 3 - Your First PHP Tag
Summary
TLDRIn this instructional video, the presenter guides viewers through setting up their first website using PHP. They start by creating a directory for the site, then proceed to build a basic HTML file named 'index.html'. The presenter emphasizes the importance of the 'index' filename for web servers. After demonstrating a simple 'Hello World' example, they transition to PHP by renaming the file to 'index.php' and introducing PHP blocks to create dynamic content. The tutorial concludes with an encouragement to practice PHP by echoing different strings across the document, aiming to familiarize users with PHP syntax and functionality.
Takeaways
- 🛠️ The video is a tutorial on setting up the initial steps for creating a website using PHP.
- 📂 The process begins by creating a directory for the website in the user's home directory, which can vary based on the operating system and the method of PHP installation.
- 🍻 If installed via Homebrew, websites can be stored anywhere, but other methods like MAMP might require specific directories.
- 📁 The user creates a 'websites' directory and then a 'demo' directory within it to house the project files.
- 🖥️ The user opens their chosen code editor to start working on the project files, emphasizing the importance of seeing only the project files for focus.
- 📝 The first file created is 'index.html', starting with basic HTML boilerplate and simplifying it for the tutorial.
- 🌐 The user mentions that understanding of HTML and CSS is assumed, suggesting to research basics if unfamiliar.
- 🔗 The video demonstrates how to view the HTML file in a browser, using PHP's built-in server with the command 'php -S localhost:8888'.
- 🔄 The importance of the 'index' filename is highlighted, as it is the default page served by the server.
- 📝 The tutorial transitions from static HTML to dynamic PHP by renaming 'index.html' to 'index.php'.
- 🔑 The user introduces PHP syntax, explaining how to create a PHP block and use 'echo' to output strings.
- 🎓 The tutorial concludes by encouraging practice with PHP 'echo' to become comfortable with the syntax and its usage in a webpage.
Q & A
What is the first step mentioned in the script for setting up a new website?
-The first step is to open the terminal that was set up in the previous episode and create a directory for the new website.
How does the method of creating a new site depend on the installation of the environment?
-The method of creating a new site depends on how you installed PHP and your server environment. For example, if you installed PHP using Homebrew, you can store website directories anywhere, but if you used MAMP, you should follow the specific directory instructions provided in the documentation.
What command is used to create a new directory in the terminal?
-The command used to create a new directory is 'mkdir' followed by the name of the directory.
What is the significance of the 'index' filename in a web server context?
-The 'index' filename is significant because it is the default file name that a web server looks for when serving a directory. If the index file is renamed, the server won't be able to find it upon a refresh.
How can you view the results of your HTML file directly in a browser?
-You can view the results by either using the inline viewing functionality of your editor or by loading the file directly in a browser using the file's URL.
What command is used to start PHP's built-in web server?
-The command to start PHP's built-in web server is 'php -S' followed by the server's hostname and port number, for example, 'php -S localhost:8888'.
Why is it recommended to stick with 'echo' instead of 'print' when writing PHP?
-While both 'echo' and 'print' can be used to output strings in PHP, 'echo' is generally preferred as it is more commonly used and has some slight differences that make it more suitable for outputting strings.
What is the purpose of the PHP opening and closing tags in a PHP file?
-The PHP opening and closing tags are used to designate that the code between them should be treated as PHP code, not HTML, allowing for dynamic content generation.
What should you do if the HTML content looks foreign to you according to the script?
-If the HTML content looks foreign, it is recommended to pause the series and research HTML basics, such as 'HTML for Dummies', to get comfortable with HTML and CSS before proceeding with the PHP course.
What is the easiest way to print a string in PHP as mentioned in the script?
-The easiest way to print a string in PHP is by using the 'echo' statement followed by the string in quotes and ending with a semicolon.
Outlines
📁 Setting Up the Development Environment
The speaker begins by ensuring that the tools for web development are in place and proceeds to guide the audience through setting up a directory for their first website. The process varies depending on the environment setup, such as using Homebrew or MAMP, and the speaker emphasizes checking the documentation for the specific installation path. They demonstrate creating a 'websites' directory in the home folder and then a 'demo' directory within it. The audience is instructed to open their chosen code editor and create a basic 'index.html' file with simple HTML boilerplate. The speaker also advises that if the HTML seems unfamiliar, the audience should first learn the basics of HTML and CSS before proceeding with the series.
🔧 Transitioning to PHP for Dynamic Content
The second paragraph focuses on transitioning from a static HTML page to a dynamic one using PHP. The speaker renames the 'index.html' file to 'index.php' and explains that while PHP's built-in web server will still serve the page, it now has the capability to process PHP code. The audience is guided to create a PHP block within the file and use the 'echo' statement to print 'Hello World'. The speaker clarifies that 'echo' is used to output text onto the page and is similar to the 'print' function, with minor differences. The goal is to become comfortable with PHP syntax and to practice inserting PHP blocks in various parts of the document to output different strings. The importance of the 'index' filename for default page serving is also highlighted.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Tools
💡Browser
💡Terminal
💡Directory
💡PHP
💡HTML
💡Boilerplate
💡Echo
💡PHP Block
💡Development Server
💡Index File
Highlights
Setting up tools for creating a website and starting with a simple step in the browser.
Creating a directory for the first website based on the user's environment setup.
Using Homebrew for PHP installation allows flexibility in choosing website directory locations.
Different installation paths may require specific directory structures for websites.
Navigating to the home directory on Mac using the tilde and forward slash.
Creating a 'websites' directory to organize all website projects.
Naming the first project 'demo' and creating a directory for it.
Opening the chosen editor to start working on the project files.
Creating a new file 'index.html' for a basic static HTML page.
Simplifying the HTML boilerplate by removing unnecessary meta tags.
Recommendation to learn HTML basics before proceeding with the series.
Using the terminal to start a PHP built-in web server for previewing the site.
Differences in server setup based on the environment, like MAMP including Apache or Nginx.
Renaming 'index.html' to 'index.php' to switch to dynamic PHP content.
Understanding the importance of the 'index' filename for web servers.
Writing PHP code within a PHP block to create dynamic content.
Using 'echo' to print a string in PHP and the importance of the semicolon.
Encouragement to practice inserting PHP echo statements in different parts of the document.
Building the first dynamic website using PHP and the importance of getting comfortable with PHP syntax.
Transcripts
okay so our tools are now in place which
means the next baby step is a little one
let's just see if we can get something
in the browser all right let's get going
all right so i hope you're working along
if so open up the terminal that you set
up in the last episode and i'd like to
create a directory for our first website
but real quick and this will apply
across the board for this series the way
you go about creating a new site will
slightly depend upon
how you installed your environment how
you installed php in your server so for
example if you went with homebrew like i
demonstrated in the last video
you can store your website directories
anywhere you want
on the other hand if you went with
something like map
have a look at the documentation i think
they will give you a specific directory
where you should create your new website
folders so again just look at the
documentation for whatever
installation path you chose and then
follow that in my case i used homebrew
so i can put my websites anywhere i want
in that case i will go to my home
directory and on the mac i can cd to
that home directory by using tilde
forward slash
for windows i believe it'll be something
like cd to sql in and then maybe users
your name and desktop i think that's
right okay let's make a directory for
all of our websites i can use this
command
mkdir make directory and we'll call it
websites
whatever you want some people call it
code it doesn't matter
okay now i can cd to that directory
change directory
to websites
okay so now yeah we can name this first
project anything we want i will just
call it demo so once again make
directory called demo and we'll cd into
that new folder
okay i think we're ready to get started
open up the editor that you chose in the
last episode
and then in my case i can choose open
here but for you it might be file and
open directory something like that
okay and if i open my home directory
sure enough i can see that websites
folder at the top and demo is the one i
want to open okay i'm excited so let me
click up here on the top left and i only
want to see my project files and we're
all set so let's right click and choose
new file
and to begin i'm going to call it
index.html
not php this is a simple static html
file now most editors will include any
number of snippets for common tasks in
my case i want some basic boilerplate
for an html file and this is what it
gives me but let's keep it super simple
i'm going to get rid of these two meta
tags and keep it like this
all right now actually a quick note if
what i've just done here in this html
looks foreign to you you may not be
ready for this particular series i would
hit the pause button and research
something like html for dummies go
through that get a little comfortable
learn a bit of css and then you're ready
for this course okay
so yeah let's just say h1 a heading one
and we'll say hello world
every series has to begin with a simple
hello world
okay so now i want to view it in the
browser so it may turn out that your
editor has some kind of functionality
for viewing the results inline like you
see here but why don't we just load it
directly in a browser so that we're all
on the same page
so to do that i will return to the
terminal and let's run php dash h this
brings up the help for php and have a
look right here bash s runs with a
built-in web server it sounds like this
is what we want but real quick once
again a discrepancy if you went with
something like mamp they will include a
server for you you probably have apache
or nginx and they will have instructions
for how to preview your website in the
browser otherwise you'll need to boot
one up yourself and that's what i need
to do here
so i can say php dash s and let's go
with localhost and a port how about 8888
all right we have a development server
running and in fact i should be able to
command click on this url to access it
otherwise just copy it and paste it into
a browser all right congratulations
you've now booted up a server and we're
displaying a static piece of html great
but i want you to notice that it
automatically worked and part of that is
because i named the file index so for
example if i were to rename this file
and on phpstorm i can go to refactor
rename or there's always a shortcut and
yeah if i changed it to anything else
well keep in mind as soon as i return to
the browser and refresh it won't be able
to find that so yeah you'll often find
that index is an important file name
okay but now i want this to be dynamic
i'm assuming you already have a little
experience building a static website at
least the basics to instead make it
dynamic i'm going to switch to php
so once again i will rename this file
to
index.php
now again notice if i don't change
anything at all because i'm running
php's built-in web server it'll still
work just like the previous example but
now we have the full power of php at our
fingertips so let's have a look here
let's clear up this h1 tag and let's
open up our first php block
we do that by typing less than sign
question mark php and then a space and
then another question mark and a greater
than sign
and i'll warn you it's really confusing
the first time you do it maybe the first
10 times you do it you'll have to look
at the keyboard to make sure you're
hitting the right keys but i promise
after a while you won't even think about
it okay so now we're basically
designating that whatever occurs between
or inside this php block should be
treated as not html but php
so for example if we just did something
like this and i once again wrote hello
world this is not going to work and in
fact if you have a good editor it'll let
you know hmm there's something going on
here
switch back to the browser reload it and
we get a parse error so notice we're
trying to interpret this php but it has
no clue what this is because it's not
html we have to write using the php
language
so i'll show you the easiest way to
simply print a string we can do that by
saying echo and then within quotes your
string hello world and then at the very
end add a semicolon and in fact i just
used the word string which can be a
little confusing at first whenever you
hear that word all i mean is basic text
a string of characters that mean exactly
what you read here they are not special
symbols or identifiers that the language
will understand it's literally text
okay all right so think about what's
going on here when the page loads we
display a heading level 1 tag and as its
text content we open up a php block and
we echo out the string hello world and
yeah i know echo can be a little
confusing think of it just like print
this text onto the page and in fact
print is something that we could use
here and it's mostly the same as echo
there's some slight differences but but
still
stick with echo most people do
all right so if we switch back give it a
refresh we get the exact same thing as
our static version but again i hope
you're excited by definition we are now
building our first dynamic website that
uses php and we'll keep taking this
further and further
so to finish up today's learning i want
you to play around with echoing
different strings hello universe um
hello town whatever you want practice
inserting that text in other areas of
the document maybe add a paragraph tag
where you echo out some gibberish string
the entire point is to become
comfortable with writing this awkward
sequence of characters you'll get it
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