Server-side Web Scripting Quiz

Study Notes

Server-side scripts can fetch, store, and pass data to other tools.
Server-side scripts can validate incoming data, filter, format, and customize information.
Server-side scripts can also perform other forms of data processing and analysis, trigger communications and notifications, control user sessions, manage and control data and content access, and tailor data for individual users.
Server-side scripts are used to access data resources and have the ability to communicate with databases, send emails, and perform other tasks that require interaction with the server.

Server-side scripts interact with client-side technologies, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to provide a dynamic and interactive user experience.
Pre-created HTML, CSS, front-end scripts, server-side scripts, media, and other resources are combined on the server to create a dynamic web application.
- The server receives HTTP requests from clients (users), processes the requests based on server-side scripts, and sends back an HTTP response to the client.
- The response typically contains dynamically generated HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that the client's browser interprets and displays.

Popular server-side scripting languages are PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), Server-side JS (NodeJS), Java Servlets and Java Server Pages (JSP), Python, Active Server Pages (ASP).NET), and Ruby.
PHP is a scripting language designed specifically for web development.
Server-side JavaScript refers to using JavaScript on the server, popular through NodeJS.
Java Servlets and Java Server Pages are part of the Java EE specification, now known as Jakarta EE.
Java EE is a standard platform for developing and deploying enterprise Java applications.
Jakarta EE includes Jakarta Servlet, Jakarta Server Pages, Jakarta Server Faces, Enterprise Beans, Expression Language, RESTful WS, and other technologies for web application development.
Python is a general-purpose programming language, also widely used for web development.
ASP.NET is a framework for building web applications using .NET languages like C#, F#, and Visual Basic.
Ruby is a dynamic, object-oriented programming language, widely used in web development through frameworks like Ruby on Rails.

An HTML form is used to submit data from the client to the server.
The HTML form element has an action attribute to indicate the URL where the form data will be sent.
The method attribute specifies the HTTP method used to send the data. This can be either GET or POST.
- GET method transmits data as part of the URL query string.
- POST method transmits data in the HTTP message body.
Forms typically contain input elements, buttons, or other elements for submitting data.
- Input elements have attributes for appearance, behavior, and identification.
- The name attribute is used by the server to identify the data.
Server-side validation is necessary to ensure data integrity.
- It is important to validate data on the server, even if client-side validation is done with HTML5 or JavaScript.

PHP is a server-side scripting language widely used for web development.
PHP code is enclosed within delimiters ().
PHP code can be combined with HTML markup in a single file.
Variables in PHP are prefixed with the dollar symbol ($).
The header() function in PHP can be used to set response header information.
The echo command outputs text that will be displayed on the browser.
- HTML tags within the echo output will be interpreted as markup.
PHP uses the dot (.) symbol as a concatenation operator.
Superglobals are predefined variables that can be accessed from any scope in PHP.
- These variables are associative arrays.
- The $_SERVER, $_GET, $_POST, $_FILES, $_COOKIE, $_SESSION, $_REQUEST, and $ENV are common superglobals.

The $_GET superglobal array in PHP contains data submitted through the GET method in an HTML form.
- The $_GET array is automatically populated with key-value pairs from the query string of the URL.

Unlike GET, POST data is included in the HTTP message body and does not appear in the URL.
In PHP, you can access the data submitted via the POST method using the $_POST superglobal array.

PHP provides functionalities for manipulating strings, including double-quoted strings and heredoc strings.
Double-quoted strings allow variable interpolation and escape sequences.
Heredoc strings behave like double-quoted strings but are used for multiline text.
- Heredoc strings are enclosed within a start identifier (<<< identifier) and end identifier (identifier).