PHP was originally designed to be used in conjunction with a web server, and in the case of the LAMP architecture, the Apache Web Server. PHP applications are designed embedding PHP scripts within a web page along with its HTML. Unlike standard HTML pages which are sent directly from the web server to the end user, PHP files are first interpreted by the PHP application which then converts the PHP script into another form for display. This process eliminates the end user from being able to see the original PHP script that was embedded in the HTML and provides true interaction in HTML files. This process is similar to proprietary applications such as ASP and Coldfusion; however, PHP is Open Source and cross- platform. PHP Tags PHP scripts are distinguished from the HTML scripts by using delimiting characters ...
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