7 Advanced PHP Topics Every PHP Developer Should Know

Be it WordPress plugin or developing a legacy PHP site, PHP development skills are in high demand in present times.

PHP is a flexible and powerful tool for software development. It has brought big changes in the working of web pages. It has also introduced changes in user interaction with those web pages. PHP is a considerably easier -to-learn language when compared to other programming languages. PHP is a popularly used server-side programming language. Even today, more than 78.1% of web pages are powered by PHP.

Due to this vast popularity, it is impossible for web developers not to have a basic working knowledge of PHP. But one can’t use the language to its full potential with just the basic knowledge. After you have completed the core knowledge course of the PHP language, you need to step up to learn the advanced PHP topics.

What Are The Advanced PHP Topics Every Developer Should Know?

The advanced PHP topics help you build a preformat, secure, scalable, and reliable web application. Below is a detailed list of PHP advanced concepts every PHP developer should know:

1. Variables and operators

One of the most vital topics in PHP is variables and operators. Variables are memory locations that are used for storing data. In other words, variables are considered containers for storing information. These memory locations stores numeric values, character values, strings, and memory addresses. The declared variable always starts with the $ sign. The scope of the variable which is the portion within /which it is accessible is of 3 types, local, global and static.

Operators are used for performing operations on given values or variables. The operators take a value, perform a function on it and give us a result. The PHP supports several types of operations like arithmetic, logical or rational. The operators are symbols to perform these operations.

2. OOP in PHP4 and PHP5

Another PHP advanced topic is OOP, also known as object-oriented programming. It is used to create objects that have both objects and data. OOP allows creating reusable applications with less code and requires shorter development time. The main aim of object-orient programming is to bind data and functions into containers called objects. The process of binding data and function is called encapsulation. Another concept which enters here is class. The Class defines how data and functionality are bonded together. Classes are templates for objects while objects are instances of classes. The fundamental difference between OOP in PHP4 and PHP5 is the latter has PHP data objects, JSON support, and a block for exception handling.

3. MySQL database form PHP

MySQL is a database system used on the web. It is the most popularly used database with PHP. MySQL is ideal for both small and large applications and is reliable, fast, and easy to use. These databases are useful for storing information categorically. In MySQL, these databases are storage for data arranged in tables consisting of rows and columns. When PHP is combined with MySQL database it becomes cross-platform. A contact form is created in PHP to connect the users to website administrators. They can send queries to the website administrators regarding the products and services. These queries can easily connect to the database, thus making it easy for the website administrators to find the specific information and have a record set return.

4. Sessions and Cookies

A cookie is a small file of 4KB that a server embeds in the user’s computer. Every time a user requests the browser for a webpage, it also sends the cookies. These cookies are taken into use to identify the user. Cookies allow the creation of a personalized surfing environment for use. It helps in tracking the sites visited by the user. PHP allows creating and also retrieving a cookie value.

On the other hand, a session is stored information in variables on the server. It is also considered a global variable stored on the server. When a session is created, a cookie is generated with a unique ID of the session. The cookie is later stored in the user’s computer. Sessions are generally created in an application where temporary information larger than 4KB has to be stored.

5. Basic Error Handling And Security

The default error handling in PHP gives a file name, line number, and type of error. It is pretty simple in PHP. In the process of developing web applications and scripts, error handling is an important part. If the code lacks error checking code, the program may be open to risks and look unprofessional. There are two types of error handling methods in PHP,

1. Die () statement: print a message and exit from the current script
2. Custom error handling and error triggering: Creating a custom function that can be called when the error occurs in PHP

6. Web Application Implementation

PHP is used to develop dynamic applications and websites. It only needs to be installed on the webserver that will host the web application. The client application can then access the server resource via the web browser. PHP has inbuilt support of working with the MySQL database system. Object-Operating Programming in PHP is used to create the web application. The PHP shows flexibility and can run under almost all operating systems. It is open source and hence, decreases the time required resources for web application implementation.

7. Frameworks

Frameworks in PHP provides the structure of web applications. They are advantageous for streamlining the process of the development of web applications. It promotes Rapid Application Development, which in turn promotes reduced time, development of more stable applications and reduces the repetitive coding for the developers. The main structure behind the working of the PHP framework is Model View Controller. It is architectural planning in web application development that separates business logic from the UI. This allows isolated modification of both elements. Hence, making coding in PHP faster and easier.

Conclusion

PHP is a server scripting language and is a powerful tool for developing dynamic web applications. It is the most popularly used programming language, due to which PHP developers are in very high demand. While many courses for PHP provide a basic knowledge of PHP, learning the advanced PHP topics make you an efficient developer. PHP is an easy-to-learn language, and the PHP advanced topics reduce the time you devote to developing a web application. when you know the advanced concepts to learn in PHP dedicate yourself to learning them and enhancing your skills as a PHP developer.