PHP, widely recognized for its simplicity and power in web development, has regained its popularity with the release of its seventh version. Utilizing PHP in conjunction with cURL allows developers to interact with external APIs, thus enhancing web applications by integrating additional data and functionalities. The guide discusses the basics of using APIs with PHP, focusing on the cURL library, which facilitates HTTP requests. Key API request methods like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE are explored, demonstrating how they correspond to retrieving, adding, modifying, and deleting data, respectively. The tutorial also outlines a comprehensive example of creating a news search engine using the Web Search API via RapidAPI, illustrating the process from obtaining an API key to testing endpoints and building a PHP application. Through this integration, developers can swiftly build robust applications by leveraging existing APIs to access diverse data and services, underscoring PHP's utility in rapid web application development.