For Programmers: Free Programming Magazines  


Home > Archive > PHP Mirrors > April 2004 > PHP definition









You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread. To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to this thread please [click here]

 

Author PHP definition
The Wait Family

2004-04-28, 2:51 pm

You really should read Lerdorf's paper from 1998

extract: http://www.newarchitectmag.com/arch...998/02/lerdorf/
Dynamic Web Pages with PHP3
An Embedded Scripting Language for the Web
By Rasmus Lerdorf

PHP is a freely available, HTML-embedded scripting language that lets you embed special tags to create your script right in an HTML file. PHP can be integrated into the Web server itself, eliminating the need to start up a separate CGI program to generate the Web page, which can lead to dramatic performance increases on some systems. In this article, I'll describe how PHP came into existence, introduce some PHP basics, then share some useful, instructive scripts to get you started.

PHP3 History
PHP began as a simple CGI wrapper written in Perl that I used to keep track of who had accessed my online resume. I then rewrote the wrapper in C to speed it up and use less resources. At the same time, I needed a way to glue my home page to a database, so I wrote the Form Interpreter (FI), a tool to embed SQL queries inside Web pages and handle form input. These tools were never intended for public use, but as so often happens, people who saw my Web pages asked for a copy of what I was using. So, I bundled up my two tools, named them the Personal Home Page Tools, and added some documentation; thus was born PHP version 1.0.

...........

Why not really tell it as it was not what you think it is!

Regards

Tom Sommer

2004-04-30, 2:14 am

The Wait Family wrote:

> You really should read Lerdorf's paper from 1998
>
>
> Why not really tell it as it was not what you think it is!


Ehh What?

--
Tom Sommer
Gabor Hojtsy

2004-04-30, 2:15 am

What do you mean with this?

Gabor Hojtsy

The Wait Family írta:
> You really should read Lerdorf's paper from 1998
>
> extract: http://www.newarchitectmag.com/arch...998/02/lerdorf/
> Dynamic Web Pages with PHP3
> An Embedded Scripting Language for the Web
> By Rasmus Lerdorf
>
> PHP is a freely available, HTML-embedded scripting language that lets you embed special tags to create your script right in an HTML file. PHP can be integrated into the Web server itself, eliminating the need to start up a separate CGI program to genera

te the Web page, which can lead to dramatic performance increases on some systems. In this article, I'll describe how PHP came into existence, introduce some PHP basics, then share some useful, instructive scripts to get you started.
>
> PHP3 History
> PHP began as a simple CGI wrapper written in Perl that I used to keep track of who had accessed my online resume. I then rewrote the wrapper in C to speed it up and use less resources. At the same time, I needed a way to glue my home page to a database,

so I wrote the Form Interpreter (FI), a tool to embed SQL queries inside Web pages and handle form input. These tools were never intended for public use, but as so often happens, people who saw my Web pages asked for a copy of what I was using. So, I bun
dled up my two tools, named them the Personal Home Page Tools, and added some documentation; thus was born PHP version 1.0.
>
> ..........
>
> Why not really tell it as it was not what you think it is!
>
> Regards
>

Gabor Hojtsy

2004-04-30, 6:21 pm

> A common definition on the web for PHP is:
>
> PHP is "Self-referentially short for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor"
>
> What the heck does that mean?
>
> What it really should be:
>
> PHP is an acronym for the "Personal Home Page" scripting language
> developed by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 for use in his own home page.
>
> KISS : Simple is beautiful.
>
> If I were studying computer languages now instead of 35 years ago I'd
> throw up my hands in despair. The more education one gets the more one
> seems to obfuscate the really simple things.
>
> It really was just a rant from an old coder in a moment of reflection.


Khm... Even if you ask Rasmus himself about what PHP means, he will say
that it means PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor. PHP has outgrown its original
name and obtained this new one in 1998. The history chapter provides
details, and you will find the candidates for the new name of PHP in the
news archives <http://php.net/news-1998.php>.

Regards,
Gabor Hojtsy
The Wait Family

2004-04-30, 6:22 pm

PHP comes from 'Personal Home Page" NOT "Self-referentially short for PHP:
Hypertext Preprocessor."


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Sommer" <tomsommer@php.net>
Newsgroups: php.mirrors
Cc: <wait@telus.net>
Sent: April 29, 2004 10:05 AM
Subject: Re: PHP definition


> The Wait Family wrote:
>
>
> Ehh What?
>
> --
> Tom Sommer
>
>

Derick Rethans

2004-04-30, 6:22 pm

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004, The Wait Family wrote:

> PHP comes from 'Personal Home Page" NOT "Self-referentially short for PHP:
> Hypertext Preprocessor."


Sorry, but that's bollocks. It CAME from Personal Home Page toold, it's
now PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor.

Derick
Gabor Hojtsy

2004-04-30, 6:22 pm

Right, but the homepage does not provide a historical overview, but
informs you on what does it mean *currently* (for six years now). So
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor is right there.

Goba

The Wait Family írta:
> PHP comes from 'Personal Home Page" NOT "Self-referentially short for
> PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor."
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Sommer" <tomsommer@php.net>
> Newsgroups: php.mirrors
> Cc: <wait@telus.net>
> Sent: April 29, 2004 10:05 AM
> Subject: Re: PHP definition
>
>
>

Sponsored Links







Also available: Server administration forum archive | Web Design forum archive | Software forum archive | Hardware reviews archive

Copyright 2008 codecomments.com