All 7 PHP CLI Scripting questions
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How do you access command line arguments passed to a PHP script using the $argv and $argc superglobals? How does the getopt function provide a more structured way to parse command line options and flags compared to manually processing the $argv array? How do PHP frameworks like Laravel's Artisan or Symfony's Console component let you build well structured, reusable custom command line commands? How do you schedule a PHP script to run automatically at regular intervals using cron on a Linux server? How should a long running PHP CLI script, such as a queue worker, handle graceful shutdown when it receives a termination signal from the operating system? What memory management considerations apply specifically to long running PHP CLI scripts, such as queue workers, that might process thousands of jobs without ever restarting?
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How do you run a PHP script from the command line, and how does this differ from running PHP through a web server?

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Answer

You run a PHP script from the command line by invoking the php executable followed by the script's file name, and unlike running PHP through a web server, a command line script does not have access to web specific superglobals like $_GET or $_POST, does not automatically output HTTP headers, and instead typically receives input through command line arguments and produces output directly to the terminal, making it well suited for administrative tasks, scheduled jobs, and automation scripts.
php script.php arg1 arg2
Real-world example A developer writes a simple PHP script to clean up old temporary files on a server, running it directly from the command line as a scheduled maintenance task rather than exposing it as a web accessible page.

Common follow-ups: What is the $argv superglobal and how does it relate to command line arguments?;Can the same PHP codebase be used for both web requests and command line scripts?

PHP CLI Scripting;Functions & Scope
All 7 PHP CLI Scripting questions