1
00:00:00,110 --> 00:00:04,590
Most of the time you hear of PHP as
a language for creating web pages.

2
00:00:04,590 --> 00:00:06,940
But PHP isn't limited to the web,

3
00:00:06,940 --> 00:00:10,950
PHP is also very useful as
a general scripting language.

4
00:00:10,950 --> 00:00:15,884
You can write and run scripts directly
on your computer without a web browser

5
00:00:15,884 --> 00:00:19,600
using what's called the command
line interface or CLI.

6
00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:24,453
We'll start our projects using the CLI in
the workspaces console before adding them

7
00:00:24,453 --> 00:00:27,120
to a web page in the last section.

8
00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:31,480
To follow along in your own workspace,
click the launch workspace button.

9
00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:32,200
If you're looking for

10
00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,930
a little more explanation on workspaces,
check the teacher's notes.

11
00:00:35,930 --> 00:00:36,790
Let's get started.

12
00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:40,480
When learning a new programming language,

13
00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:44,310
it's a tradition to start with
a simple hello world program.

14
00:00:44,310 --> 00:00:47,354
So let's start off by creating
a new file named Hello.

15
00:00:50,265 --> 00:00:53,009
We'll give this the extension .php.

16
00:00:53,009 --> 00:00:58,920
You place php code inside
what's called a code block.

17
00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:05,413
Much like HTML tags,
the opening tag is <?php,

18
00:01:05,413 --> 00:01:09,211
and the closing tag is ?>.

19
00:01:09,211 --> 00:01:12,800
We then place our code
within this code block.

20
00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,740
To display something to the screen
we use the echo command,

21
00:01:16,860 --> 00:01:19,620
followed by whatever we want to display.

22
00:01:19,620 --> 00:01:21,585
In this case we'll type, Hello World.

23
00:01:21,585 --> 00:01:25,720
We'll surround this text with quotes and
end the line or

24
00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:27,220
statement with a semicolon.

25
00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:33,240
A statement in programming can be defined
as an instruction to perform a specified

26
00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:38,898
action, such as setting data, retrieving
data, performing a calculation and so on.

27
00:01:38,898 --> 00:01:44,220
Statements in php almost always
need to end with a semicolon.

28
00:01:44,220 --> 00:01:46,660
Now let's run our script in the console.

29
00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:50,570
If your console is not visible go to View,
Show Console,

30
00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:58,330
then type php followed by a space, and
then the name of the php file hello.php.

31
00:01:58,330 --> 00:02:03,030
This tells the console we
want to use the php command

32
00:02:03,030 --> 00:02:07,930
line interface to process the file,
hello.php.

33
00:02:07,930 --> 00:02:12,350
This is often called running a script or
executing the script.

34
00:02:12,350 --> 00:02:14,730
Don't worry,
scripts aren't hurt when you execute them.

35
00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,080
In the console we see the output,
Hello World, but

36
00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:22,480
not the php tags or the echo command.

37
00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,868
This is because the php command
line interface, or cli for short,

38
00:02:26,868 --> 00:02:33,225
processes the php code and
returns only the output.

39
00:02:33,225 --> 00:02:37,245
What we're talking about php code,
let me point out that with few exceptions,

40
00:02:37,245 --> 00:02:43,690
php does not care about extra whitespace
such as spaces, tabs, or blank lines.

41
00:02:43,690 --> 00:02:47,700
You can have things all smooshed up
together, or spread out, however you want.

42
00:02:47,700 --> 00:02:52,572
But remember, with great power comes
great responsibility. By following

43
00:02:52,572 --> 00:02:55,713
best practices and
spacing your code clearly,

44
00:02:55,713 --> 00:03:01,310
you can make your code easier to read for
others and for your future self.

45
00:03:01,310 --> 00:03:02,370
Congratulations!

46
00:03:02,370 --> 00:03:03,970
You've written your first php script.

47
00:03:05,190 --> 00:03:08,960
To get the most out of this course,
let me provide a few tips.

48
00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,470
If you hit a part of the video where
you're struggling to follow along,

49
00:03:12,470 --> 00:03:15,770
you can always slow down or
speed up the videos.

50
00:03:15,770 --> 00:03:19,560
Also, feel free to watch
the videos more than once.

51
00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,770
Furthermore, I've included additional
information in the teacher's notes.

52
00:03:23,770 --> 00:03:26,600
So don't forget to check
those out as well.

53
00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:30,670
If you don't write your code exactly
right, php will give an error.

54
00:03:30,670 --> 00:03:33,100
If you want to learn more
about error handling,

55
00:03:33,100 --> 00:03:35,830
check out the workshop
in the teacher's note.

56
00:03:35,830 --> 00:03:40,460
And finally, not only is the php
community as a whole fabulous,

57
00:03:40,460 --> 00:03:45,180
you also have an awesome community
of fellow students here at Treehouse

58
00:03:45,180 --> 00:03:48,310
who can help you with
questions that you might have.

59
00:03:48,310 --> 00:03:50,730
Sometimes it just takes
another perspective

60
00:03:50,730 --> 00:03:53,070
to help you really
understand a new concept.