Why is it important to understand that PHP is a server-side language and must be accessed through a server environment like Apache for proper parsing and execution?

It is important to understand that PHP is a server-side language because it needs a server environment like Apache to properly parse and execute PHP code. Without a server environment, PHP code will not be executed correctly and will simply be displayed as plain text in the browser. To ensure that PHP code runs as intended, it must be accessed through a server environment that supports PHP.

<?php
// PHP code that needs to be executed on a server
echo "Hello, World!";
?>