How to write a “Hello World” program?

Writing a “Hello, World!” program in PHP is a simple and traditional way to get started with the language. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create one:

1. Set Up Your Development Environment: Before you begin, ensure that you have PHP installed on your system, as we discussed in a previous answer. You can use a text editor like Notepad (on Windows) or any code editor of your choice, such as Visual Studio Code, Sublime Text, or Atom.

2. Create a New PHP File: Open your text editor and create a new file. You can name it something like `hello.php`, and make sure it has the `.php` extension, which indicates that it contains PHP code.

3. Write the PHP Code: Inside your `hello.php` file, you’ll write the PHP code to display “Hello, World!” on the screen. You can achieve this with the `echo` statement, which outputs text to the browser. Here’s a simple PHP script:

```php
<?php
  echo "Hello, World!";
?>
```

In this code, `<?php` marks the start of the PHP code block, and `?>` indicates the end. The `echo` statement is used to print the text “Hello, World!” to the browser.

4. Save and Execute: Save your `hello.php` file. Then, open your command prompt or terminal, navigate to the directory where the file is located, and run the PHP script by typing `php hello.php` and pressing Enter. You should see “Hello, World!” displayed on the screen.

You’ve successfully created and executed a “Hello, World!” program in PHP. It’s a straightforward example, but it demonstrates the fundamental structure of a PHP script, including PHP tags (`<?php ?>`) and the `echo` statement, which you’ll use extensively when building more complex PHP applications.