What else can PHP do besides web development?

PHP is a programming language implemented in C and is usually used for Web development, but it does not mean that PHP can only be used for Web development. It is absolutely possible to write crawlers in PHP and do automated operation and maintenance; you can do more with C extensions, such as Swoole high-performance network programming and OHSCE industrial control programming.

Naturally, there are many application scenarios (computing intensive) that PHP is not suitable for, such as operating system development and database engine development.

But PHP can do auxiliary development for these systems, such as using PHP to develop a phpMyAdmin to visually manage the database MySQL, such as developing a "phpLinuxAdmin" to manage a Linux server without a graphical interface.

In short, we must maximize its strengths and avoid weaknesses, and adapt to local conditions in order to fully and reasonably utilize the advantages of PHP.

PHP scripts are mainly used in the following three areas:

Server-side scripts. This is the most traditional and main target area of ​​PHP.

To carry out this work, you need the following three points: PHP parser (CGI or server module), web server and web browser. You need to install and configure PHP when running the web server. Then, you can use a web browser to access the output of the PHP program, that is, browse the PHP page on the server. If you're just experimenting with PHP programming, all of this can be run on your home computer. Please consult the Installation chapter for more information.

Command line script. You can write a PHP script and don't need any server or browser to run it.

In this way, only the PHP parser is needed to execute. This usage is ideal for daily running scripts that rely on cron (Unix or Linux environments) or Task Scheduler (Windows environments). These scripts can also be used to process simple text. See PHP's command line mode for more information.

Write desktop applications.

For desktop applications with graphical interfaces, PHP may not be the best language, but if the user is very proficient in PHP and wants to use some advanced aspects of PHP in client applications Features, you can use PHP-GTK to write these programs. In this way, you can also write cross-platform applications. PHP-GTK is an extension of PHP that is not included in the commonly distributed PHP packages.

PHP can be used on all major operating systems, including Linux, various variants of Unix (including HP-UX, Solaris, and OpenBSD), Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, RISC OS, etc.

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