Web server

Meaning

A web server is software that receives requests from browsers and returns pages or files, such as Apache or Nginx. It serves static files like images and style sheets directly and hands requests for PHP pages to the PHP engine, which runs the code and passes the output back. Knowing this split explains why a PHP file opened straight from a folder does not work like a normal page: it needs a server in between. Local development packages install one for practice. See also: HTTP request, HTTP response, and the guide How PHP Works on the Server: Request and Response Explained.