The following is from the: Techencyclopedia Web site / techweb.com
PHP:
(PHP Hypertext Preprocessor) A scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages. With syntax from C, Java and Perl, PHP code is embedded within HTML pages for server side execution. It is commonly used to extract data out of a database and present it on the Web page. The major NT and UNIX Web servers support the language, and it is widely used with the mSQL database. PHP was originally known as "Personal Home Page."
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PHP allows for Web page dynamics, being able to use software applications on the server allows the Web developer to allow the client to harness the power of word processing, database, spread sheet and other powerful applications. This can increase the meaningfulness and productivity of a users Web experience and is the foundation of e-commerce.
Static Web pages are still used and highly trafficked but the ability to create or "generate" Web pages on the fly that incorporate text, images, user data, database data, spread sheet data and other forms of content output has become the standard by which Web sites/pages are measured.
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The following is taken form the: 1 PHP Street / 1phpstreet.com
PHP is a language for creating interactive web sites and is used on over 3.3 million web sites around the world. It was originally called "Personal Home Page Tools" when it was created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf to keep track of who was looking at his online resume.