PHP Web Hosting

You may have heard of PHP web hosting, free PHP web hosting, and PHP web hosting scripts but don't understand what they mean. If you are feeling a little lost in all of this web hosting lingo, this PHP tutorial will bring you up to speed on PHP web hosting services.

PHP is the name of a scripting language used to develop web pages. It can both be embedded into HTML as well as employed in graphical applications. Websites with PHP require a PHP web hosting plan. For more information keep reading.

Origins of PHP

Invented in 1994 by Danish-Greenlandic programmer Rasmus Lerdorf, who wrote the first two versions himself, more recent PHP development is done through the PHP Group with Lerdorf contributing. It was publicly released in 1995, and the current version as of 2008 is PHP 5, but PHP 6 is already in development. It was, and remains, a free program.

PHP is cross-platform and works with a number of different operating systems. As of 2006, Apache has been the most popular web server, and as of 2007, PHP was more popular than any other Apache module. Recently, Microsoft's Open Source Technology Center (OSTC) has been working to increase interoperability between Windows and PHP.

How PHP Works

Because PHP code is used for server-side scripting, a user's request is passed through PHP on a web server, resulting in output usually of HTML web pages that the use views through a browser. It is also used with database management systems (DMS). PHP

Choosing PHP Web Hosting

In order to have PHP web hosting, all you have to do is check to see if the plan you're considering lists PHP as one of the languages it supports. You may find it in a grouping of icons - often alongside .Net, Cold Fusion, Python, Java, Perl, and Ruby on Rails for example. And it may also simply be noted under a list of plan features.

If there is a choice of the server operating system, be sure to check the available systems - often Linux and Windows - to see if it is offered on both. Often, web hosts provide a comparison chart, in which case it may be in a subcategory called Language Support or something similar.

There is one other important element to check. You should note which version or versions of PHP are available, as this can have an important impact on how PHP programming is handled, since new versions introduce new features. With version 6 coming soon, you may wish to check with the web host to find out how soon after its release their PHP web hosting will offer PHP 6.