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PHP Introduction

Welcome to the complete PHP course of ZyroNetwork School.

This course is designed for:

  • Absolute Beginners
  • Web Developers
  • Backend Developers
  • Minecraft PocketMine-MP Developers
  • API Developers
  • Server Administrators

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

✅ Build PHP Applications
✅ Create APIs
✅ Understand OOP deeply
✅ Build PocketMine-MP Plugins
✅ Work with Databases
✅ Write Professional Code
✅ Understand Composer and Modern PHP

What is PHP?

PHP stands for:

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor

PHP is a powerful, open-source scripting language mainly used for:

  • Dynamic Websites
  • APIs
  • Web Applications
  • Backend Systems
  • Game Server Development
  • Command Line Applications

PHP code is executed on the server and the output is sent to the user.

History of PHP

PHP was created by:

👤 Rasmus Lerdorf

Year:

📅 1994

Initially, PHP was developed as a small collection of scripts to manage personal websites.

Over time, PHP evolved into one of the most widely used programming languages in the world.

PHP Evolution

VersionReleaseFeatures
PHP 31998First major version
PHP 42000Zend Engine
PHP 52004OOP Improvements
PHP 72015Huge performance increase
PHP 82020JIT Compiler
PHP 8.12021Enums, Fibers
PHP 8.22022Readonly Classes
PHP 8.32023Performance Improvements

Why Learn PHP?

Many people think PHP is outdated.

This is completely false.

PHP powers a huge part of the internet.

Popular websites using PHP:

  • Facebook (Originally)
  • Wikipedia
  • WordPress
  • Joomla
  • Magento
  • Laravel Applications
  • PocketMine-MP

Why PHP for PocketMine-MP?

PocketMine-MP uses PHP because:

✅ Easy to Learn

✅ Fast Development

✅ Powerful OOP System

✅ Large Ecosystem

✅ Cross Platform

✅ Supports Modern Features

PHP 8 introduced many features making it even better:

  • Strict Typing
  • Enums
  • Attributes
  • JIT Compilation
  • Fibers

What Can PHP Do?

PHP can:

Web Development​

echo "Hello World";

Handle Forms​

$_POST["username"];

Connect Databases​

$pdo = new PDO(...);

Create APIs​

return json_encode($data);

Read Files​

file_get_contents();

Build CLI Applications​

php app.php

Build Minecraft Plugins​

class Main extends PluginBase {

}

PHP vs Other Languages

FeaturePHPPythonJava
Easy to Learn✅✅❌
Web Development✅✅✅
Speed✅❌✅
PocketMine Support✅❌❌
Huge Community✅✅✅

PHP Syntax Example

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

echo "Welcome to ZyroNetwork School!";

Output:

Welcome to ZyroNetwork School!

Why strict_types=1 ?

Always use:

declare(strict_types=1);

This enables strict type checking.

Example:

function add(int $a, int $b): int {
    return $a + $b;
}

add("5", "2");

Without strict types:

7

With strict types:

TypeError

This prevents bugs.

PocketMine-MP heavily relies on strict typing.

PHP Execution Process

Browser
    ↓
Web Server
    ↓
PHP Interpreter
    ↓
Execute Code
    ↓
Generate HTML/API Response
    ↓
Send Back to User

How PHP Works Internally

  1. User sends request
  2. Web Server receives request
  3. PHP Engine executes file
  4. Database queries are executed
  5. Response is generated
  6. User receives output

PHP Usage Areas

Web Applications​

Examples:

  • Forums
  • CMS
  • Dashboards
  • Authentication Systems

REST APIs​

Examples:

  • Discord Bots
  • Mobile Backends
  • Minecraft APIs

Game Server Development​

Examples:

  • PocketMine Plugins
  • Statistics APIs
  • Rank Systems
  • Economy Systems
  • Matchmaking Systems

Popular PHP Frameworks

Laravel​

Website:

https://laravel.com

Features:

  • MVC
  • Authentication
  • APIs
  • Queues
  • Jobs

Symfony​

Website:

https://symfony.com

Used in enterprise applications.

CodeIgniter​

Website:

https://codeigniter.com

Lightweight framework.

Tools Required

1. PHP

Download:

https://www.php.net/downloads.php

2. Composer

Download:

https://getcomposer.org/

Composer is PHP's package manager.

Equivalent of:

  • npm for JavaScript
  • pip for Python

3. Visual Studio Code

Download:

https://code.visualstudio.com/

Recommended Extensions:

PHP Intelephense​

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=bmewburn.vscode-intelephense-client

Error Lens​

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=usernamehw.errorlens

Material Icon Theme​

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=PKief.material-icon-theme

GitLens​

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=eamodio.gitlens

PocketMine PHP Binaries

Official Repository:

https://github.com/pmmp/PHP-Binaries

PocketMine-MP

Official Website:

https://pmmp.io/

Documentation:

https://doc.pmmp.io/

GitHub:

https://github.com/pmmp/PocketMine-MP

Recommended Setup

Windows​

C:\
 ├── php
 ├── projects
 ├── pocketmine

First PHP Program

Create:

hello.php

Code:

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

echo "Hello ZyroNetwork!";

Run:

php hello.php

Output:

Hello ZyroNetwork!

Learning Roadmap

Introduction
↓
Installation
↓
Syntax
↓
Variables
↓
Data Types
↓
Operators
↓
Conditions
↓
Loops
↓
Functions
↓
Arrays
↓
Strings
↓
Object Oriented Programming
↓
Namespaces
↓
Composer
↓
Advanced PHP
↓
Databases
↓
Security
↓
PocketMine-MP Development

Career Opportunities

Learning PHP can help you become:

  • Backend Developer
  • Full Stack Developer
  • API Developer
  • Game Server Developer
  • PocketMine Developer
  • DevOps Engineer
  • Software Engineer

Quiz

Q1.​

Who created PHP?

Answer

Rasmus Lerdorf

Q2.​

What does PHP stand for?

Answer

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor

Q3.​

Which package manager does PHP use?

Answer

Composer

Exercises

Exercise 1​

Install PHP.

Exercise 2​

Install Composer.

Exercise 3​

Run:

echo "Hello World";

Exercise 4​

Install PocketMine PHP binaries.

Next Chapter

➡️ Installation and Environment Setup