Aug 1 2011

What is the fuss around PHP?

Mind you I am not a PHP developer who understands what PHP means or what does it do at the expert level. But I do understand from a business stand point because of the regular work that needs me to deal with PHP development. According to me, and I don’t think I can put it more simply; PHP is a programming language which can be used to develop websites and bespoke applications. These are not ordinary websites having static pages, but dynamic pages which can be easily changed. Static pages are those that are built using HTML (another programming language) and in order to make changes to it, someone has to manually change the HTML and reload it onto the server. PHP has the ability to be embedded within web pages which makes the site dynamic.

Some of the benefits of using PHP are,

Free – Like Totally Free

PHP is completely free to use, free to download, and free to distribute having zero upfront costs and zero ongoing costs.

Free From Restrictive Licenses

You can let others download it from your site, you can use it for personal or commercial purposes, it can be used in any country and for any application you want. That’s some serious flexibility when you compare it to proprietary languages like Java and ASP.NET!

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Reduces Server Bills

Though PHP can run on a Windows based server, it’s basically designed to run on Linux and Apache, which are open source software having zero upfront costs and zero ongoing costs – you even get future updates free of charge. Imagine this solution which can cut your server maintenance bills to a fraction of what you might be paying for your Windows servers (which will include ongoing maintenance and upgrade costs).

Mature Code

PHP has been and is being actively developed for over 15 years, which makes it the same age as many languages seen as ‘commercial’ like Java, ASP.NET etc. PHP is a proven technology but without the costs.

Runs on almost all of the Web Servers

PHP can run on almost all of the Web Servers since it works on just about every operating system available.

Thousands of Support Businesses

All around the world there are thousands of web development companies who can provide support, training and maintenance for your PHP driven website/application. Icreon is one such company with over 100+ PHP developers and 10 years of experience developing PHP based applications.

Ready to use Frameworks

There are many PHP frameworks available that take care of many of the regular functions like search function, content management etc. which allows the PHP developer to focus on building the site as per your requirements rather than re-creating code over and over again. For e.g. PHP frameworks like Cake PHP, ZEND etc. reduce the amount of time it takes to build your website, hence reducing your costs even further.

In order to implement PHP for your web development or bespoke application development needs, all you need to do is approach a company that does PHP development or has PHP developers. The best possible way to find such companies would be to go onto Google and type in the keywords along with your region, for e.g. PHP developers London / PHP development west Yorkshire, and I am pretty sure that you would receive some relevant results.
At Icreon UK, we have the experience and expertise to create PHP applications. We have in house PHP developers london that create a solution that is specific to your company requirements. We further provide support (if required) once the application is made live. Visit us to find out more about our PHP development/ PHP developer capabilities.
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Aug 1 2011

Benefits of PHP Website Development

With the growing prominence of web development service, Hypertext Preprocessor or PHP has flared its dominance. This general purpose programming language is widely used for developing dynamic websites. Owing to several benefits of PHP, it is used in more than 20 million websites and finds application in more than a million of web servers. Custom web development is easier with PHP, and the language is available with a number of open source development such as OS Commerce, Zen Cart, Magneto, Joomla, WordPress and many more. PHP Website Development services to create dynamic webpages and various other web solutions such as web calendars, shopping cards, CMS and more. Due to the fact that PHP language has an inbuilt memory optimization, it never overloads the servers, rather enhance the processing speed of the servers.

PHP can be easily embedded into HTML and dynamic visual applications like Flash, Ajax can be easily integrated with PHP. This accounts for further popularity of PHP Web development service. Support to several databases like Oracle, Informix, MySQL etc. also makes PHP the most used programming language. A PHP developed website requires less code usage and boast a memory building option of its own. Gathering outside object codes is very rare in PHP based applications. Today, most of the business houses opt for PHP Website Development as it helps to cut down both the time as well as the effort of creating an attractive website. PHP is compatible with all the operating system and can also be used to make client-side GUI applications and command-line scripting.

PHP Website Development is fast, free and stable and guarantees secure interface. A PHP based application is easy to work upon. Hardly any external plug-ins are required to run programme, rather, can be executed wholly by the server, requiring nothing from the end users.

The scripting language can be easily integrated in various dynamic visual applications such as Flash and Ajax and the PHP library allows creation of some beautiful graphical effects. Furthermore, PHP website development is cost effective. PHP is available free of cost (under PHP General Public License)

Another superb benefit of using PHP for developing web application is that in case of any query or help, a developer can always seek the assistance in the online forum. The language is simple and easy to understand and troubleshooting in PHP web development is pretty easier.

PHP web development service undoubtedly has introduced the simplest means of creating attractive and user friendly websites. Through PHP programming, a site can be made vibrant and impressive. PHP programming helps in building SEO friendly sites. PHP written scripts enable to keep a track of the target visitor’s activities. The webmasters can obtain feedback from customers as well. PHP helps in active content management system with all ease and convenience.

So, if you have been looking to build your website that will outclass everything in terms of programming, design, user friendliness and PHP web development is your ultimate option. Understand the exact requirements in the best way and endow the responsibility on a professional web development company to prosper in your venture.

Jacques Neel is a professional web developer working in a PHP Web Development firm. He shares various benefits on the multifold advantages of PHP website development and why this programming language is preferred over the other languages.
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Aug 1 2011

Development of PHP

PHP in its most basic sense is a scripting language. When it was first developed, the aim was to develop a language for web development. The main job of PHP is to create dynamic web pages. Dynamic web pages are those web pages whose content are created dynamically, every time a client requests a page. The contents are loaded in run time. PHP is the language that is used to script such pages. Hence, the scripting code has to be written as a part of the HTML code which acts as the source code. It is the job of the server to interpret the source code. This interpretation is possible if the server has an explicit PHP processor module inbuilt in it. By using this module, the web server produces the document that is viewed at the client side.

PHP has been developed further. A command-line interface has been built into it so that remote machines can be provided with web pages that have more advanced graphics. One of its major advantages is that, it can be used across machines that are part of a complex network or standalone. It can be obtained for free on the internet. PHP can be used with almost all operating systems. It can be deployed on 32-bit machines as well as 64-bit machines. The working of PHP is very similar to the Active Server Pages from the house of Microsoft. In fact, these two languages bear close competition with each other, with PHP having a few technical advantages.

The creator of the first version of PHP is Rasmus Lerdorf. It was released in the 1995. Over the years The PHP Group has been created and it manages a common standard for PHP Scripting Language across the globe. This is required because PHP does not have any formal rules that need to be followed specifically. This software is released under a license called the PHP license and is available for free. When this language was first developed it was named Personal Home Page or PHP, however after a few developed versions PHP is the acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor. It got its developed name after its third version PHP 3 in 1997.

The third installment was followed by PHP 4 in 2005 and PHP 5 in 2008. The fifth version has been further developed into sub versions, as in PHP 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3. Late static binding was a feature that was not present in the earlier versions of this software. IT was added in PHP 5.3. PHP 5 has been proven to be the most stable format of this software, used by almost 20 million users across the globe. Developers have been working on PHP 5.4. Developers have aimed to arm this version with complete Unicode assistance. However, this is a very complex feature, which will need few more years and hence it might be added to the PHP 6. At present PHP 5.4 is being developed.

The new codes of PHP do not include the safe mode. Along with this the global registers that were used in earlier versions is also being removed. Magic quotes which used to be absolutely unpredictable are also not a part of this software anymore. The presence of register global had led to issues related to security. Add slashes () are used in place of magic quotes. This function is not unpredictable like its predecessor.

Cathy is the professional writer for otssolutions.com, is an offshore outsourcing company provides services about Php Development Company, Php Web Development Company, Php Development Outsourcing across the globe.
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Jun 26 2011

What is PHP? Why PHP is so popular?

The fastest growing technology in the world of web development is PHP. The article gives details about PHP, reasons for its popularity and why it recommended to use.

PHP
PHP stands for Pre Hypertext Processor. In simple terms, it is server side scripting language and it is used to create static and dynamic web sites. PHP is also an embedded language and we can embed PHP code with HTML and JavaScript to create a dynamic web site.

Why it is popular?
PHP is an open source language so you do not need to buy any license or copy to install PHP on your machine. The second reason is that the PHP community is very vast and solution for any technical problem can be found on internet, forum or blog.

Is it secured?
Yes, PHP is very much secured and PHP.net is keep releasing the latest version and updates for the PHP for latest security updates and bugs being removed?

What about the database?
Although PHP can work with any DBMS but it performs best with MySql and most codes are developed considering MySql in mind.

What is latest update?
Currently PHP 5 is very popular, however PHP 6 is launched too and soon the stable version will come. In PHP 5, few functions are marked with warning. The warning is that, they will deprecated in PHP 6 version. Deprecation means they will not work in those new versions. So if you are developing the new code, it is better that you code the site considering PHP 6 standard.

In MySql, MySql 5.2 is very popular and currently working along with PHP. The main reason why PHP is so popular is for the online help. Since it is an open source scripting language, you normally get the solution for all of your issue from blogs, online forums and other experts opinion.

For more information, http://www.php.net is official website for the PHP where you can find all the latest updates, bugs report and functionality guidelines for same. Based on PHP language, there are number of CMS like wordpress, drupal, Joomla and shopping cart CMS like magento, zen cart, xCart are developed and very popular. You can develope the website also and along with that you can also install extra plugins to utilize all your requirements.

PHP is not only the present but also has very strong future and that is the reason why you should use php to develop your web site.

Sarita Patel is an SEO expert, working in the industry from last 2 years. She is currently working on website content writing and search engine optimization project for U n Me Business Solutions.
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Jun 26 2011

PHP Web Development Partner or PHP Vendor Selection: What you should know!

Being the platform of choice for web developers worldwide to develop dynamic and custom–built web applications, PHP has taken centre stage in today’s web technology arena. Its popularity can be judged by the fact that almost two out of three websites developed nowadays use PHP in some form or the other.

When it comes to selecting a vendor for outsourcing your PHP development tasks, you will find that numerous vendors exist at every price point. Quite a few of them would try and compete on price. But care should be taken not to be carried away by the low price offered but instead find a vendor who can cater to your specific web development needs. Price alone cannot be the deciding factor in such business-critical PHP development projects, instead the reputation and track record of the vendor assumes significance. For the benefit of users who are concerned about the success of their PHP Project, we have enlisted a few pointers that will help fellow readers to make an informed decision regarding the choice of a PHP Vendor.

Right PHP Development Company If you are about to spend money for your PHP web development needs, then you should perform an analysis and examine the vendor on the following parameters:

1) Technology Strengths
2) Domain & Ecosystem Expertise
3) Community Strengths
4) Project and Quality Management
5) Business and Legal

Let’s examine each of the above parameters in greater detail:

Technology Strengths The first and foremost thing that you should do is to check the technical expertise of the service providers whom you have short-listed based on references obtained. Whether you require a PHP vendor for standard day-to-day support or for a specific product that needs to be developed, you need to ensure that vendor has the technical expertise to deliver results within the constraints of time to avoid costly delays. Typically a PHP Development project requires some of these skill sets:

1) Native PHP (Version 5 and above)
2) Framework-Expertise in PHP Frameworks like Zend Framework, Symfony Development, Codeigniter, CakePHP etc
3) Database – It entirely depends on your preference. Some of the databases that are used in PHP application development are MySQL, DB2, PostgreSQL, MSSQL and Oracle
4) System Administration: Knowledge of Server OS typically a Linux Box or Windows coupled with knowledge of Cloud Hosting (if required)
5) Some specific projects also require extensive knowledge of Front End (UI) Development technology frameworks like JQuery, Prototype, EXT JS, and DOJO etc.

If your application is based on an existing PHP based product / solution then extensive expertise on the same is required. Asking the right questions to vendors is important as it will help you to elicit answers that will help you in taking informed decisions. You may like to ask the following:

1) Team Strength
2) Number of application architects on board
3) Number of engineers on board with Zend Certification
4) Number of PHP Engineers in the team who have worked with PHP products that you use (like SugarCRM Developer, Magento, Drupal, Process Maker )
5) Number of database experts in the team who have expertise in the database relevant to your project and their roles in
6) PHP development projects
7) Request for some sample projects done in your chosen framework to know whether the vendor has expertise in your chosen framework.
8) Take a look at the internal training calendar to know about the training programs conducted internally in the recent past
9) Ask about the induction process of a PHP engineer as it will help you to know whether the vendor invests in training or not.
10) Request for details about PHP/QA practices.

I hope the above points will surely help you in choosing the right vendor for your PHP web development needs. And I will be more than happy to answer your any queries and await your valuable comments and feedback.

 

The author of the piece is an expert on PHP Web Development and writes extensively on the Zend Framework. He can be reached via email at eric@osscube.com. Read More: Choosing Right PHP Web Development Partner
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