Lesson 6: About PHP; Web programming languange.

We agreed earlier that I will not be offering PHP lessons in this blog. Forgive me for that. I will only use this language to present the whole idea of SMS and USSD. However, I will discuss a few things that are necessary to easily understand the subject in question.
I am of the assumption that you are aware of he following

  1. PHP escape tags (<?php........?>)
  2. That PHP files has extension .php
  3. Declaring variables in PHP(use of $ sign)
  4. That PHP is untyped language
  5. The "echo" command
  6. Arithmetic operations and string concatenation
  7. Using functions in PHP (User defined and inbuilt, and those with parameters and those without, and passing and receiving arguments in parametrized functions)
  8. Control structures with a special emphasis on switch....case...
  9. The POST[] and GET[] global arrays or methods
  10. Receiving variable values through a URL
  11. Including PHP files in others 
  12. Arrays

Why PHP language ?

  1. It is easier to learn. This means that USSD learner will understand the USSD concept easily
  2. Widely supported
  3. Many developers are using it, which means it is easier to get assistance 
  4. It is interpreted rather that complied, and thus saves time, especially for learners where a lot of testing is necessary

Because some PHP parts above will be highly  used in this tutorial, the following sections will be discussed prior to handling USSD concepts;




  1. The switch...case control structure 
  2. Arrays 
  3. Functions (inbuilt and user defined)
  4. Receiving variable values from a URL
This means that if you are green about PHP, you should not worried. However, take you time and acquaint yourself with basics.

 This was not really a post or lesson, but it is equally important.

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