Page 510 - Computer_Science_F5

Basics of PHP: syntax, commenting, variables, and the Echo statement
In this section, we cover the basics of PHP, including its syntax, commenting,
variables, and the echo statement. Understanding these fundamental concepts
lays the foundation for your PHP programming journey in the context of database
management. Chapter Eight: Databases and Database Management Systems
FOR ONLINE READING ONLY

(a) PHP syntax
(i) PHP code is written inside <?php ?> tags. For example: <?php ...code... ?>
(ii) Statements in PHP are terminated with a semicolon (;).

(iii) PHP is not case-sensitive, so you can use either uppercase or lowercase letters
for language constructs.

(b) Commenting
(i) Comments in PHP are used to document or temporarily disable parts of the
code.
(ii) Single-line comments start with // or #. For example: // This is a comment.

(iii) Multi-line comments are enclosed between /* and /. For example:
/

This is a multi-line comment.
It can span multiple lines.

*/

(c) Variables
(i) Variables are used to store data and give them meaningful names.
(ii) In PHP, variables start with a dollar sign ($), followed by the variable
name. For example: $name, $age.

(iii) Variable names can contain letters, digits, and underscores, but they must
start with a letter or underscore.

(iv) PHP uses dynamic typing, meaning you don’t need to declare the variable
type explicitly.
(v) Assigning a value to a variable is done using the assignment operator (=).
For example: $name = “John”;
(d) The echo statement

(i) The echo statement is used to output text or variables onto the web page.
(ii) To display a string literal, enclose it in quotes (single or double). For
example echo “Hello, World!”;

501
Student’s Book Form Five

Computer Science Form 5.indd 501 23/07/2024 12:35