In this post you will find some very amazing examples of how you can use PHP besides creating web pages.
User Authentication
User authentication is among the staple programming utilities of web security.
If you are developing web applications then it will be a smart choice to use PHP. This is because there are high chances that you need to implement user authentication.
Moreover, there is whole list of techniques that developers can use. These can be as simple as username/password verification or even something complex like two (or more) steps verification.
Databases made easy with use of PHP
This is another amazing use of PHP. PHP includes database support from its early days.
The list of supported database systems is long:
- MySQL
- PostgreSQL
- Berkeley DB (very useful for system administrators)
- Oracle
- Microsoft SQL Server
- SQLite
You can also use NoSQL databases like MongoDB.
The best part is that if you use a database supported by PHP, your work becomes very easy.
Server side backend code
Nowadays, web development is all about the synergy between frontend and backend technologies.
To make use of Frontend applications is a smart mover. It can be very simple like basic dynamic web pages with simple JavaScript and AJAX functions, or complex web apps built with frameworks and libraries such as JQuery, Node.JS, Angularand so on.
For this it always make use of server backend.
Server backends too can be created using different technologies.
Python, Perl, Java and even C or C++ can be used together with HTTP servers to provide frontend apps with backend data.
But the most used language by far is PHP, because it has been specifically created for such task.
Real time web applications
Real-time web applications include chats, monitoring systems, bots, social networks, web games and more.
You can build such applications using different technologies, notably with MEAN stack software including Node.JS, Express and Angular.JS
WebSocket based frameworks like Socket.IO are also very powerful and widely used today.
Some real-time applications use JavaScript libraries only, relying on backend technologies like Node.js server, but in some cases it can be useful to make use of PHP as well.
The Internet is full of “comparison” articles like “Node.JS VS PHP: which is better?”… but I think that’s a stupid way of looking at web technologies.