In what ways can a lack of understanding of the HTTP protocol hinder the successful implementation of PHP in a Java server?

A lack of understanding of the HTTP protocol can hinder the successful implementation of PHP in a Java server by causing communication errors between the PHP scripts and the server. To solve this issue, it is important to ensure that the PHP scripts are properly handling HTTP requests and responses according to the protocol specifications.

// Example of handling HTTP request in PHP
$request_method = $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'];
if ($request_method == 'GET') {
    // Handle GET request
} elseif ($request_method == 'POST') {
    // Handle POST request
} else {
    // Handle other request methods
}