MySQL is one of the most popular open-source Relational Database Management Systems

(RDBMS).

A MySQL client might hold multiple databases. Each database might contain multiple tables
with each table holding data of the same type. Each table contains rows and columns with
each row denoting a single entry and each column denoting different attributes of the
entries.

Data Types in MySQL

MySQL supports a list of predefined data types that we can use to effectively model our
tables. These data types are:

 INT: for integer data.

 DECIMAL: for decimal data.

 BOOLEAN: for boolean data.

 CHAR: for fixed-length string.

 VARCHAR: for variable-length string.

 TEXT: for long-form text.

 DATE: for date data.

 TIME: for time data.

 DATETIME: for date-time data.

 TIMESTAMP: for timestamp data.

MySQL Commands

CREATE TABLE

The CREATE TABLE statement is used in MySQL to create a new table in a database. The
syntax for this is shown below:

Syntax:

CREATE TABLE [IF NOT EXISTS] table_name(

column1_definition,

column2_definition,

...,

table_constraints

);
DROP TABLE

The DROP TABLE statement is used in MySQL to drop or delete a table from the database.
The syntax for this is shown below:

Syntax:

DROP [TEMPORARY] TABLE [IF EXISTS] table_name;

RENAME TABLE

The RENAME TABLE statement is used in MySQL to rename the existing tables. One or more
tables can be renamed using this statement.

Syntax:

RENAME TABLE old_table_name to new_table_name;

INSERT INTO

The INSERT INTO statement is used in MySQL to insert rows into a table. One or more rows
can be inserted into a table using this statement.

Syntax:

INSERT INTO table_name (column1, column2, ….)

VALUES (value1, value2, ....),

(value1, value2, ...),

(value1, value2, ...),

....................;

SELECT

The SELECT statement is used for querying data. It allows you to select data from one or
more tables.

Syntax:

SELECT column1, column 2,....

FROM table_name;

SELECT DISTINCT

The SELECT DISTINCT statement is used in MySQL to remove duplicate rows.

Syntax:

SELECT DISTINCT column1, column2,...

FROM table_name;

ALTER TABLE

The statement ALTER TABLE can be used in MySQL to add a column, modify a column, drop a
column, rename a column from a table.

1. Add a column to a table using ALTER TABLE with ADD

The syntax for adding a column to a table is shown below:

Syntax:

ALTER TABLE table_name

ADD

new_column_name column_definition

[FIRST|AFTER column_name]

2. Modify a column using ALTER TABLE with MODIFY

We can modify one or multiple columns of a table using MODIFY with ALTER TABLE
statement.

The syntax for this is shown below:

ALTER TABLE table_name

MODIFY

column_name column_definition

[FIRST|AFTER column_name]

3. Rename columns using ALTER TABLE with CHANGE COLUMN

We can rename a column of a table using the CHANGE COLUMN keyword with ALTER TABLE.

The syntax for this is shown below:

ALTER TABLE table_name

CHANGE COLUMN original_column_name new_column_name column_definition

[FIRST | AFTER column_name]

4. Drop a column using ALTER TABLE with DROP COLUMN

We can drop a column or multiple columns using DROP COLUMN with ALTER TABLE.

The syntax for this is shown below:

ALTER TABLE table_name

DROP COLUMN column_name;

ORDER BY in MySQL

The ORDER BY clause is used in MySQL to sort the retrieved data in a particular order.

Syntax:

SELECT column1, column2,...

FROM table_name

ORDER BY Column1 ASC/DESC, Column2 ASC/DESC,... ;

Aliases in MySQL

Aliases are used to give columns or tables a temporary or simple name. AS keyword is used
to create an alias.

Column Alias

The syntax for column name aliases is written below.

Syntax:

SELECT column_name AS given_name

FROM table_name;

Table Alias

The aliases can be used to give simple and different names to tables also.

Syntax:

SELECT column1, column2, ….

FROM table_name AS given_name;

WHERE clause in MySQL

The WHERE clause is used to apply a particular condition while selecting rows from the
table. It helps in filtering the rows according to any particular condition.

Syntax:

SELECT column1, column2, …..

FROM table_name

WHERE condition;

IN Operator in MySQL
The IN operator is used to check if a value matches any of the values in a list of values. It is
similar to the OR operator as if any of the values in the list matches it returns true.

Syntax:

SELECT column1, column2, …..

FROM table_name

WHERE column_name IN (value1, value2, ….);

or

SELECT column1, column2, …..

FROM table_name

WHERE column_name IN (SELECT statement );

LIKE Operator in MySQL

The LIKE operator is used in MySQL to search for a specific pattern in a string. If an
expression matches the pattern, it returns true else false.

There are two wildcards in MySQL, used with the LIKE operator for searching a pattern.

 The percentage sign (%). It represents zero or more characters.

 The underscore sign (_). It represents a single character.

Syntax:

SELECT column1, column2, …..

FROM table_name

WHERE column_name LIKE pattern;

For example:

SELECT customer_id, customer_name, product_id

FROM customers

WHERE customer_name LIKE 'A'%;

IS NULL Operator in MySQL

The IS NULL is used to check if a value is NULL or not. If the value is NULL, it returns true else
false.

Syntax:

SELECT column1, column2, …..

FROM table_name

WHERE column_name IS NULL;

JOIN

Joins are used in relational databases to combine data from multiple tables based on a
common column between them. A foreign key may be used to reference a row in another
table and join can be done based on those columns. Two or more tables may have some
related data, and to combine all the data from multiple tables joins are used.

There are different types of joins in MySQL.

1. INNER JOIN

2. LEFT JOIN

3. RIGHT JOIN

4. CROSS JOIN

INNER JOIN

The INNER JOIN produces the output by combining those rows which have matching column
values.

Syntax:

SELECT column_names

FROM table1

INNER JOIN table2 ON table1.common_column=table2.common_column

INNER JOIN table3 ON table1.common_column=table3.common_column

...;

LEFT JOIN

The LEFT JOIN returns all the rows from the left table ‘A’ and the matching rows from the
right table ‘B’ in the join. The rows from the left table, which have no matching values in the
right table will be returned with a NULL value in the link column.

Syntax:

SELECT column_names

FROM table1

LEFT JOIN table2 ON table1.common_column=table2.common_column;

RIGHT JOIN
The RIGHT JOIN returns all the rows from the right table ‘B’ and the matching rows from the
left table ‘A’ in the join. The rows from the right table, which have no matching values in the
left table will be returned with a NULL value in the link column.

Syntax:

SELECT Column_names

FROM table1

RIGHT JOIN table2 ON table1.common_column=table2.common_column;

CROSS JOIN

CROSS JOIN returns the cartesian product of rows from the tables in the join. It combines
each row of the first table with each row of the second table. If there are X rows in the first
table and Y rows in the second table then the number of rows in the joined table will be X*Y.

Syntax:

SELECT column_names

FROM table1

CROSS JOIN table2;

GROUP BY

The GROUP BY clause is used to arrange the rows in a group using a particular column value.
If there are multiple rows with the same value for a column then all those rows will be
grouped with that column value.

Syntax:

SELECT column1,column2,…

FROM table_name

WHERE condition

GROUP BY column1,column2, …

Order BY column1, column2, ….

The GROUP BY clause is generally used with aggregate functions like SUM, AVG, COUNT,
MAX, MIN. The aggregate functions provide information about each group.

HAVING

The HAVING clause is used with the GROUP BY clause in a query to specify come conditions
and filter some groups or aggregates that fulfill those conditions. The difference between
WHERE and HAVING is, WHERE is used to filter rows, and HAVING is used to filter groups by
applying some conditions.

Syntax:

SELECT column1, column2, …

FROM table_name

WHERE conditions

GROUP BY column1, column2, …..

HAVING conditions

PHP is a popular, open-source scripting language mainly used in web development. It runs
on the server side and generates dynamic content that is displayed on a web application.
PHP is easy to embed in HTML, and it allows developers to create interactive web pages and
handle tasks like database management, form handling, and user authentication.

 PHP code is executed on the server, generating HTML output sent to the client's
browser.

 It is a dynamically typed language, allowing variables to change types during

execution, offering flexibility in coding.

 PHP is platform-independent, which means it can run on various operating systems

such as Windows, Linux, and macOS.

 PHP supports session management, which allows tracking user activities across
different pages on a website.

Note: The latest version, PHP 8.4.8, released on 2025, It makes PHP faster, more efficient and
adds new features which improving its performance for modern web applications.

To learn more about it follow the article - PHP Versions

PHP Hello World Program

To start with PHP, you need to install it. Follow the steps below to install it on your system.
 1. Install PHP in your Windows System | Linux | or MacOS

2. Set up PHP Project

After installing PHP, let's write your first PHP program. Here's a simple code example:

<?php

echo "Hello World!";

?>

Output

Hello World!

Why Learn PHP?

As per Stack Overflow's recent survey, PHP ranked as the 7th most used language for web
development. Here are some reasons why you should learn PHP in 2025:

 Wide Usage in Web Development: PHP is widely used in web development, with
over 40% of websites using WordPress. As per the data of 2025, more than 75% of
developers prefer PHP for server-side tasks due to its rapid development process.

 Easy to Code in PHP: PHP code is simple to write because it works well with HTML.
This allows developers to combine server-side and client-side code and making web
development more straightforward and efficient.

 Great for Beginners: PHP is beginner-friendly with its simple syntax and ease of
setup. You can run PHP locally using tools like XAMPP or MAMP, making it accessible
for new developers eager to start building websites.

 Embedding with HTML: PHP is easily embedded in HTML, which allows developers to
create dynamic content easily and allows server-side logic with the front-end user
interface.

 Compatible with Popular Frameworks: PHP works well with frameworks

like Laravel and Symfony, offersenableswhich have seen over 70% adoption in web
development projects. These frameworks offer enhanced security, rapid
development features and scalability.

 Career and Freelancing Opportunities: PHP is widely used by small to mid-sized

businesses for their websites. There's still strong demand for PHP developers,
especially for roles involving maintenance, migration, and WordPress development.

Getting Started with PHP: A Beginner’s Guide

This PHP tutorial provides you with a step-by-step learning journey for mastering PHP. You
will start with PHP fundamentals and then move on to advanced topics.

By the end of this tutorial, you will have a solid foundation in PHP and be ready to build
scalable and maintainable web applications.

1. PHP Basics

Once your environment is ready, we’ll explore the core concepts that will form the
foundation of your PHP skills. Learn how to write dynamic web applications, manage
variables, perform type casting, and work with control structures.

 Introduction

 Practice: PHP Basic Quiz

 PHP Data Types

 PHP Variables

 Practice: Variables & Data Types Quiz

 Type Juggling

 Operators

 Decision Making

 Practice: Operators & Decision Making Quiz

 PHP Math

 PHP Constants

 PHP Magic Constants

 Practice: Constant & Magic Constant Quiz

2. PHP Functions

Functions are key to creating efficient and reusable code. This section will teach you how to
create functions in PHP, from basic functions to more advanced anonymous and variadic
functions.

 PHP Functions

 PHP Default Functions

 Anonymous Function PHP

 PHP Callback Function

 PHP Arrow Functions

  PHP String Functions

 PHP Date and Time

 Practice: PHP Functions Quiz

3. PHP Beginner Projects

Now that you have a basic understanding of PHP, start with some beginner-level projects to
solidify your concepts and apply them in real-world applications.

 Project 1: PDF Downloader in PHP

 Project 2: Automatic File Downloader

4. PHP Arrays

Arrays are essential for managing data in PHP. This section covers array types and essential
superglobal variables that are crucial for managing form data, sessions, and cookies.

 Arrays

 Indexed Arrays

 Associative Arrays

 Multidimensional Arrays

 Array Functions

 Practice: PHP Array Quiz

5. Superglobals

Superglobals in PHP are built-in variables that are always accessible from any scope in a
script. They provide useful information and data, like user input, server details, and session
information.

 Superglobal

 $GLOBALS

 $_REQUEST

 $_GET

 $_POST

 Cookies

 Sessions

 $_FILES
  Practice: PHP Superglobals Quiz

6. PHP File Handling

Working with files is a common task in many web applications. In this section, we will cover
the techniques for reading, writing, uploading, and securing files in PHP.

 PHP File Handling

 PHP fopen( )

 PHP readfile( )

 PHP fwrite()

 PHP fclose()

 PHP unlink()

 PHP file_exists()

 Practice: PHP File Handling Quiz

7. PHP Forms

Learning how to securely handle user input is essential. This section will show you how to
create forms, validate user input, and apply essential security measures like CSRF protection.

 PHP Form COVID-19

 PHP Form Validation

 PHP Form Required

 PHP Form URL/E-mail

 Practice:PHP Forms Quiz

8. PHP Intermediate Projects

Continue to solidify your PHP knowledge by building intermediate-level projects. These

projects will challenge you to apply your skills in more complex scenarios.

 Project 3: Image Resizer in PHP

 Project 4: Uploader in PHP

 Project 5:Image Link Extractor in PHP

 Project 6:Signup Form in PHP

9. PHP Object Oriented

PHP Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) allows you to structure your code using classes
and objects, promoting code reusability, organization, and scalability.

 PHP Classes and Objects

 PHP Abstract Classes

 PHP Access Modifiers

 Constructors & Destructors

 PHP Inheritance

 PHP Polymorphism

 PHP Traits

 PHP Namespaces

 Practice: PHP Object Oriented Quiz

10. Error Handling and Exception Handling

Error handling and exception handling in PHP allow you to manage runtime errors and
exceptions effectively, ensuring smooth execution and providing a mechanism for graceful
error recovery and debugging.

 Error Reporting in PHP

 Types of Errors

 Throwing Custom Exceptions

 Logging Errors and Debugging Techniques

 Using set_error_handler() and trigger_error() for User-Defined Errors

11. PHP Testing and Debugging

Testing and debugging are essential skills for ensuring your code is reliable and error-free.
This section introduces you to unit testing with PHPUnit, debugging tools, and effective
debugging techniques.

 Unit Testing with PHPUnit

 Mocking and Stubbing in PHPUnit

 Debugging PHP Code and Tools

12. PHP Advanced Projects

Now that you’ve covered most of the key PHP concepts, it’s time to work on some advanced
projects to further strengthen your skills and gain hands-on experience:
  Project 7: Admin Login Page in PHP

 Project 8: Group Chat application in PHP

 Project 9: COVID-19 Tracker in PHP

Best Approach to Learn PHP

You can complete this PHP tutorial in approximately 12 weeks.

 In the first two weeks, you'll cover PHP basics, including variables, data types, and
operators.

 Week three will focus on functions, followed by beginner-level projects in weeks four
and five.

 Weeks six and seven will dive into arrays, superglobals, and session management.

 Week eight will cover form handling and validation, while week nine will focus on file
handling.

 In week ten, you’ll work on intermediate projects, and week eleven will cover object-
oriented programming concepts.

 The final week will focus on error handling and advanced PHP concepts. By the end
of the 12 weeks, you’ll have a strong foundation in PHP and be capable of building
dynamic web applications.

PHP Cheat Sheet

The PHP Cheat Sheet is a quick and easy guide that shows the most important PHP concepts
and code. It helps beginners and experienced developers find what they need fast without
searching through long documents. Use it to write PHP code more quickly and easily. Keep it
close while coding to make your work simpler!

Interview Questions

After completing all the sections of this tutorial, before heading to your interview, you can
go through this section, which provides commonly asked PHP interview questions to test
your knowledge and boost your confidence!

 PHP Interview Questions and Answers (2025)

Libraries and Frameworks

PHP libraries and frameworks play an essential role in modern web development. They offer
built-in functions and tools that enhance the functionality of web applications, making them
more dynamic and interactive. Libraries handle common tasks such as database interactions,
email sending, and file management, which allows developers to focus on core application
logic.
PHP Tutorial - Libraries and Frameworks

PHP vs Other Programming Languages

Below is a comparison of PHP with the other some top backend development libraries and
frameworks:

Feature PHP Python NodeJS

Type Interpreted Interpreted Interpreted

Multi-
Event-driven,
paradigm Multi-paradigm (object-
non-blocking
Paradigm (procedural, oriented, procedural,
I/O, single-
object- functional)
threaded
oriented)

Automatic Automatic
Memory Automatic (Garbage
(Garbage (Garbage
Management collection)
collection) collection)
Feature PHP Python NodeJS

Syntax Simple Simple Simple

Web
Real-time
development,
Web development, data applications,
server-side
Use Cases analysis, machine learning, web
scripting, CMS,
and integratesautomation development,
e-commerce
APIs
platforms

Community Support Strong Strong Strong

High (due to
Performance Moderate Moderate non-blocking
I/O)

Synchronous
Synchronous (with blocking Asynchronous,
Concurrency (with blocking
I/O) event-driven
I/O)

Laravel,
Notable Symfony, Express.js,
Django, Flask
Frameworks/Libraries CodeIgniter, NestJS, Koa.js
WordPress

List of Companies Using PHP

These are some popular companies that use PHP in their workflow:

Company Description

Facebook's early versions and many back-end services were built using
Facebook
PHP.
Company Description

GeeksforGeeks GeeksforGeeks is built using PHP.

Wikipedia uses PHP for creating dynamic content and managing its vast
Wikipedia
database.

Slack uses PHP for its server-side backend development and user
Slack
interaction.

Etsy relies on PHP for its e-commerce platform, handling product

Etsy
listings and transactions.

Tumblr uses PHP to power its dynamic blog platform and content
Tumblr
management.

Yahoo Yahoo uses PHP for web services and its dynamic content generation.

Shopify uses PHP for e-commerce back-end services and it with various
Shopify
platforms.

Mailchimp uses PHP to manage its email marketing services and

Mailchimp
customer data.

Career & Jobs in PHP

PHP offers a wide range of career opportunities, as it is one of the most popular server-side
languages used in web development, particularly for building dynamic websites and
applications. Here are some top career paths for PHP developers:

Average Salary (INR) Per Average Salary (USD) Per

Career Annum Annum

PHP Developer ₹500,000 – ₹1,200,000 $60,000 – $110,000

 Average Salary (INR) Per Average Salary (USD) Per
Career Annum Annum

Front-End Developer ₹600,000 – ₹1,400,000 $65,000 – $120,000

Full Stack Developer ₹700,000 – ₹1,500,000 $75,000 – $130,000

Back-End Developer ₹600,000 – ₹1,300,000 $70,000 – $125,000

Web Developer ₹500,000 – ₹1,200,000 $55,000 – $100,000

Laravel Developer ₹600,000 – ₹1,300,000 $70,000 – $125,000

Symfony Developer ₹700,000 – ₹1,600,000 $75,000 – $135,000

WordPress Developer ₹500,000 – ₹1,200,000 $55,000 – $100,000

PHP Software
₹500,000 – ₹1,500,000 $65,000 – $120,000
Engineer