A Server-Side Programming Language
Webservers can run programs written in many different programming languages, but JavaScript isn't one of them. Therefore, instead of JavaScript, we'll use PHP as our server-side programming language.
The acronym PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor. (This kind of self-referential naming passes for humor among computer programmers.) PHP is popular because its code can be incorporated directly into HTML pages, it's free, and it's cross-platform compatible.
Note
In order to try the examples in this chapter, you'll need access to a webserver that runs PHP. See "SETTING UP A WEBSERVER AND PHP" on page 273 for some resources describing how to set one up for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers.
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