Does PHP still have a future in website development?

PHP can do everything. PHP is mainly used for server-side scripting programs, so you can use PHP to complete any work that other CGI programs can complete, such as collecting form data, generating dynamic web pages, or sending/receiving Cookies. But PHP’s capabilities go far beyond that.

PHP scripts are mainly used in the following three areas.

Server-side script. This is the most traditional and main target area of ??PHP. To carry out this work you need the following three things: 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. 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. This way you only need the PHP parser 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 "Command Line Mode for PHP" for more information.

Write client-side GUI applications. PHP may not be the best language for window-based applications, but if you are very proficient in PHP and want to use some of PHP's advanced features in your client applications, you can take advantage of PHP-GTK to write these programs. With this approach, you can also write cross-platform applications. PHP-GTK is an extension of PHP that is not included in the commonly distributed PHP packages. If you are interested in PHP-GTK, please visit its website for more information.