What are the advantages of using PHP over standard HTML? I hear that PHP makes it easier to modify templates, but doesn't .shtml do that as well? Also, which programming language tends to load quicker.

    the plusese are many...shmtl included only html on the server, from what i might remember...still only static html...for anything that involves dynamic data intensive sites where users need to sign up, php is very adept at handling this data....pages can be built and customized on the fly...cookies can be read in and manipulated to provided more interactive user friendliness (custom colors, fonts etc)

    PHP is very fast, even with high DB load pages and easy to learn...

    hth

      I must agree with Bastien. PHP saves much time and makes the work easier and more comfortable (if you think as a developer). If you think as a visitor of the page - you can vote in polls, search the pages, buy some goods at e-shops, get statistics of your page... There´s a lot of things you can do thanks to PHP...

      And it is very easy to learn - easier that C++, Java or JavaScript. At least for me ;-)

        yup...those 2 up there r definitely rite!! i learned JavaScript b4 this, and i found soooooo many limitations. I do not suggest javascript because of compatibility issues...but PHP is great, 'n it IZ very ez to learn!! it has more capabilities than other languages...

          There is no comparison. If your pages are static, PHP offers no advantage. Server side includes will work if your needs are light and if you still want to generate the static includes yourself.

          Javascript is a client side scripting language that does a completely different job and does not pertain to this discussion.

          PHP offers a totally dynamic server side option capable of interacting with the user, databases, stored files etc. pitting itself against JSP, Java servlets, ASP, PERL, ColdFusion, and server side executables, and handles the job quite well.

            Actually, shtml is much more powerful than most folks realize. It has conditionals, variable substitution, regular expression comparisons, and the ability to echo server variables and formatted strings. There's a lot more you can do with those tools than simply including files. A company where I used to work ran a network of 30 or so locally branded sites with extensive use of shared content automatically mixed with local content, and made it all happen with nothing more sophisticated than XSSI directives.

            PHP does everything XSSI offers, plus math, much more powerful string manipulation, the ability to define and use functions and objects, network transparency (fetch a file from a remote url), and access to external databases such as MySQL. The language itself is fairly small, simple, and clear, especially to anyone who's ever programmed in a C-like language. Most of the power comes from its ability to include third-party function libraries such as the ones that support the various databases.

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