what is php? how is php used in wordpress?

The bulk of WordPress software is written PHP, which makes PHP language for WordPress community.   your server will first run the PHP code contained in WordPress core and any themes plugins you have installed on your site..   Then, once your server has processed the code, it delivers the output of all that PHP ..   The result is that, unlike HTML, your website's visitors will never see the PHP code that powers your WordPress site.   you can open ZIP file to see that most of WordPress files are PHP.   Similarly, any theme that you install is going to include bunch of PHP files.   Beyond using PHP for its core files, WordPress also includes number of functions, hooks, classes, and methods that you, or developers, can use to extend WordPress in tons of helpful ways..   For example sidebar php dictates how your area looks and functions header php dictates how your header looks and functions comments php dictates how your comments section looks and functions etc...   your server takes all those separate PHP files for different areas in your theme, puts them together as specified by your theme, and delivers HTML output to your visitor's browser..   The beautiful thing about WordPress is that all of the PHP is already written for you in the form of WordPress, WordPress themes, and WordPress plugins..   Read more