16.2. PHP CLI Shell Scripts
The CLI version of PHP is meant for writing standalone shell-scripts running independently from any web server. As of PHP 4.3.0, the CLI version of PHP is installed by default, alongside whatever web server interface you choose to install.
It has been possible to write shell scripts using the CGI version of PHP since PHP 3.0, but a number of workarounds had to be added to make CGI better suited for this, such as the –q option to silence headers. During PHP 4's development, it became apparent that a separate command-line version of PHP was needed to keep CGI clean, and CLI has been distributed since 4.2.0.
This has not stopped people from writing PHP shell scripts, but CLI is more accessible (because it is always installed) ...
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