Good, versatile and ugly. Why is PHP still alive?

The Evolving Perception of PHP

PHP, once a stalwart of web development, now finds itself in a changing landscape as newer languages rise to prominence. In this article, we will explore the history of PHP, its current challenges, and why it still remains a valuable tool for developers.

The Genesis of PHP

Let’s take a brief journey back in time to understand PHP’s origins. Created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf, PHP began as a simple set of Perl scripts to monitor website traffic. Over the years, it evolved into a powerful scripting language. By 1997, it had garnered a global community of over 50,000 developers.

PHP’s Dominance and Dilemma

Despite its significant historical influence, PHP faces criticism for being inconsistent and outdated. Questions about its relevance have become a recurring theme on platforms like Quora. This raises the question: why the uncertainty surrounding a language powering approximately 80% of websites?

PHP’s Inconsistencies

One of the primary criticisms aimed at PHP is its inconsistent syntax. Developers often encounter issues related to method bases, parameter handling, operator ambiguities, error handling, and function conflicts. These inconsistencies stem from PHP’s prolonged development history, with contributions from various developers following different approaches.

The Power of PHP

However, PHP’s longevity has brought forth a rich ecosystem of mature frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, Zend, Phalcon, and Yii. These frameworks, coupled with numerous libraries, enable developers to build complex projects efficiently. PHP also boasts a substantial standard library, facilitating tasks such as PDF handling, database connectivity, and graphics manipulation.

PHP’s Performance and Potential

One of PHP’s remarkable qualities is its performance, particularly in its latest versions. PHP 7.0 outperformed its predecessor, version 5.0, by up to 14 times in benchmark tests. It even rivaled popular languages like Python and Ruby in certain scenarios. While PHP may not match the sheer speed of compiled languages like Go, its versatility and cost-effectiveness make it a strong contender for various tasks.

The Importance of Community

PHP’s performance gains and continuous improvement owe much to its dedicated developer community. However, persistent rumors about PHP’s impending demise can discourage collaboration. These rumors often stem from misconceptions and the rise of competing languages like Python, Ruby, and JavaScript, which attract new developers with their ease of learning.

PHP’s Future Outlook

In conclusion, PHP’s future remains promising despite its perceived shortcomings. Version 7.0’s optimizations demonstrate its ongoing relevance. As a programming language with a vast array of applications and readily available solutions, PHP stands relatively unchallenged in the market.

PHP’s success story serves as a testament to its adaptability and resilience in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Developers should consider PHP not as a relic of the past but as a versatile tool that continues to empower web development projects worldwide.