Key difference: PHP is a server-side scripting language that has its main implementation in web development. However, it can be used as a general-purpose programming language. CakePHP, on the other hand, is an open source web application framework. A framework is a collection of pre-written objects and code. CakePHP is a framework based on and for the PHP language.

PHP is a server-side scripting language that has its main implementation in web development. However, it can be used as a general-purpose programming language. PHP was originally created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1995 and it is currently managed by The PHP Group. PHP originally stood for Personal Home Page, however it was later renamed. It now stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, a recursive acronym. PHP is free software released under the PHP License, as is incompatible with the GNU General Public License (GPL) due to restrictions on the usage of the term PHP.

PHP is an open source, server-side, HTML embedded scripting language. It can basically perform any task that other CGI programs can, but it is mainly used to create dynamic Web pages. Its main advantage is that it is compatible with many types of databases. Furthermore, PHP can talk across networks using IMAP, SNMP, NNTP, POP3, or HTTP.

PHP includes a command-line interface capability and can be used in standalone graphical applications. PHP commands can be embedded directly into an HTML source document rather than calling an external file to process data. In the HTML document, the PHP script is enclosed within special PHP tags. Due to these tags, the programmer can alternate between HTML and PHP instead of having to rely on heavy amounts of code to output HTML. Also, as PHP is executed on the server, the client cannot view the PHP code.

CakePHP, on the other hand, is an open source web application framework. A framework is a collection of pre-written objects and code. CakePHP is a framework based on and for the PHP language. It was first released in April 2005 by Michal Tatarynowicz. He had written a minimal version of a Rapid Application Framework in PHP modeled after the concepts of Ruby on Rails. It is since available as an open source framework under the MIT License.

CakePHP is basically a foundational structure for programmers to create web applications. It contains the base codes and objects that programmers may use to build or modify their applications. CakePHP uses well-known software engineering concepts and software design patterns, such as Convention over configuration, Model-View-Controller, ActiveRecord, Association Data Mapping, and Front Controller.

CakePHP features Controller, Model, and View classes. It also features additional classes and objects that make development in MVC quicker and easier. CakePHP also contains Components, Behaviors, and Helpers. These are classes that provide extensibility and reusability in order to add functionality to the base MVC classes in the applications.

The main difference between PHP and CakePHP is that PHP is a scripting and programming language, whereas CakePHP is a framework that is based on and written for the PHP language. CakePHP is a set of codes pre-written in the PHP language for use in various applications. 

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