Learn PHP for free: answers about PHP and PHP Trail

PHP and its manual are free, and PHP is open source, so you can read and write PHP without paying for the language itself. PHP Trail is separate. It is an independent Windows app and is not part of the PHP project.

Good PHP beginner projects are small ones that run in your own folder: hello world, a times table, a form that echoes an escaped name, a to-do list stored in a file, a guestbook, a small blog with a few pages, a product class and a CSV reader. Pick one.

Procedural PHP first is a common order, because variables, arrays, loops and functions come before classes, and once those feel familiar you can build one product class with a constructor and a private property to practice object-oriented programming. Take it slowly.

A database comes later. Wait until variables, arrays, loops, functions and forms feel familiar, because SQL is a separate language and prepared statements keep user input out of the query text. Passwords go through password_hash, never plain text.

Yes, phptutorials.net is the official PHP Trail website. Download the original build here, compare its SHA-256 checksum with the published manifest, and use the Send feedback button inside the app if something looks wrong. Check the hash.

No. A model can write code that looks fine and still fails, and a command that ends without an error only means it finished. You read every result and every diff, run the script and test it yourself. Trust your own test.

Yes, in small steps. A tutorial for building a blog website usually starts with a list of posts and a page for one post, so ask for one page at a time, run it and review each diff before you accept it. Keep every file in your own folder.

No. PHP Trail has no videos, quizzes or grades, so it does not replace a video tutorial to start PHP as a beginner. It is meant to sit beside the PHP manual or whatever you already read, and it turns that reading into a file you can run.

A cloud AI provider through a standard API endpoint, a model running locally on your PC, or the built-in model. The Test button checks an endpoint and shows the response time and the context window. Test it first.

Yes, if you choose a cloud model: the prompt text, including any file text the agent reads, goes to that provider. With a local model nothing leaves the machine. Chats, working folders and API keys stay on your PC either way. Decide before you paste secrets.

The check uses a Windows command: certutil -hashfile with the path of the downloaded file and SHA256. The installer is not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn; choose More info, then Run anyway, only after the checksum matches the published manifest. Do not skip it.