PHP and other Programming Languages
The major notable difference with PHP against other languages with regards to variables is that PHP is more “intelligent”. In C for example, variables have to be explicitly defined as either numeric or alpha-numeric and can only be used to store that defined specific form of data. PHP like all other languages supports a lot of variable types such as integers, floating point numbers, arrays and strings but with one major difference, variables are recognized automatically based on their use and the context of their use. This makes your (programmer’s) life a whole lot easier. PHP variables are defined with a “$” symbol preceding the variable name. It should also begin with either an underscore or an alpha character.

