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The PHP programming language, also known as Hypertext Preprocessor, is a powerful server-side scripting language with a thriving developer community and a decades-long history on the web. On the other hand, its early success means its popularity is waning in favor of newer programming languages better optimized for the modern web. Is PHP still relevant in 2021?
In this article, we’ll dive into the details of what exactly PHP is, its strengths and weaknesses, and why you should use it in your web development projects.
What is PHP?
PHP is an open-source general-purpose scripting language widely used on the back end of a majority of web applications. Whether you’re building your webpage with WordPress, developing a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) app from scratch, or bootstrapping a website with the popular web development framework Symfony, PHP is the scripting language you’ll need to use to get these projects off the ground.
Popular PHP features include:
- Cross-platform compatibility with all major operating systems from Windows to macOS, and most of the web servers (e.g., Apache, Microsoft, IIS, Netscape.)
- Dynamic typing and support for object-oriented programming
- Database connections for both SQL and NoSQL databases
- Powerful web development frameworks like Symfony and Laravel
- Just-in-time compilation with the Zend engine
- An XML parser that can convert XML nodes between SimpleXML and DOM formats
- A simple and effective command-line interface with PHP CLI
Because it is easy to learn PHP and its prominence on the web, PHP is often the first programming language many web developers are exposed to. And as it’s a general-purpose programming language, you can use it to build everything from personal home pages to enterprise apps and high-traffic e-commerce websites.
What is a scripting language?
A scripting language is a programming language that does not require an explicit compilation step. Traditionally this implies scripting languages were interpreted at runtime rather than compiled into machine code. They were created to automate the execution of tasks that would normally be performed by humans.
Because these higher-level languages were laconic and easier to use than their compiled system-level counterparts, scripting languages such as Python, JavaScript, and PHP all became popular over time as they grew in capability and complexity.
Today the line between scripting languages and system languages is blurring with highly performant just-in-time (JIT) compilation engines such as the Zend engine allowing you to build programs that compile to machine code. You can write a C interpreter and use it as a scripting language if you want. You can also compile JavaScript into a machine code executable file if you need to. In other words, it’s more about the runtime environment and how you use the language that determines whether it is a “scripting” language or not.
With that nuance in mind, it is safe to say that PHP is most often used as a server-side scripting language. Even when it is embedded in an HTML file to be interpreted by a browser, the PHP code is still run on the server side.
Below is an example of PHP embedded in HTML:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Embedded PHP example</title>
</head>
<body>
<?php
echo "This is an embedded PHP script";
?>
</body>
</html>
While it may look similar to embedded JavaScript (popularly used as a client-side scripting language), PHP executes on the server-side.
What are the advantages of using PHP?
With so many new programming languages popping up over the years, it’s impressive how PHP’s popularity on the back end continues to endure. Here are 8 advantages of using PHP:
1. It’s free
PHP has been free since it was officially released to the public in 1995. Its open-source license is managed by The PHP Group.
2. Short learning curve
PHP boasts easy-to-use syntax and built-in features for web development. Its online documentation, PHP Manual, is also straightforward to follow.
3. Regular updates
PHP is managed and maintained by the PHP Group, which regularly releases improvements, bug fixes, security patches, and more. PHP 7 is the latest major version.
4. It powers WordPress
The world’s most popular content management system (CMS), WordPress, is powered by PHP. If your website requires WordPress customizations that go beyond the capabilities of its drag-and-drop editor, PHP is a must.
5. It’s supported by most web hosting services
PHP scripts can only be interpreted on a server with PHP installed. Fortunately, its ubiquity as a core web technology means most web hosting services support it.
6. Speed
The release of PHP 7 was a game-changer, famously clocking in at 3 times the speed of comparable scripting languages such as Python.
7. Good selection of databases
PHP has a large roster of compatible databases including relational databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite, and NoSQL databases such as MongoDB, ElasticSearch, and Redis.
8. Web compatibility
From cloud services to seamless HTML integration, PHP is compatible with most web technologies. Its versatility and flexibility mean it also plays well with other programming languages and can be found across many application development stacks.
9. The community
The PHP development ecosystem is supported by a large and active community of open-source developers. There are plenty of tutorials, libraries, apps, and FAQs to aid you on your web development projects.
What are the disadvantages of using PHP?
No programming language is perfect. Here are some of PHP’s more noteworthy flaws:
Perceived security vulnerabilities
PHP is notorious for its security vulnerabilities. A lot of this is due to perception—as an older open-source programming language hackers have had plenty of time to exploit poorly written applications and their exploits have gained notoriety.
Waning popularity
PHP is still plenty popular in 2022. But it has dropped from number 8 to number 12 on the Tiobe Index between 2020 to 2021. Its popularity has been on the decline as newer languages pop up resolving programming productivity issues and adding trendy programming features, like functional programming, which is difficult to add to an existing language.
Lack of specialized libraries
The decline in popularity might have something to do with the lack of specialized libraries. With so many great general-purpose programming languages out there today, being a generalist is no longer the best way to secure market share. Python, which recently climbed to Number 1 on the Tiobe Index boasts powerful data science libraries that are great for machine learning applications. PHP lacks a similar analog to help it stand apart from the crowd.
PHP vs. other languages
Now that you know the pros and cons of PHP, let’s take a look at how PHP stacks up against other popular programming languages.
PHP vs. Python
If you need language speed, PHP 7 is the clear winner here with its 3x performance boost for most applications wresting the title for fastest scripting language from Python’s grasp. But if you’re using AI or working with complex data queries, Python reigns supreme.
PHP vs. Scala
Scala is a compiled language that boasts several features coveted by modern programmers including dual support for both object-oriented and functional programming, and strong and static typing. These features help developers write tighter code less prone to bugs and vulnerabilities. On the flipside, PHP is dynamically typed, object-oriented, and interpreted. When it comes to websites, the Scala market share is significantly smaller than the juggernaut that is PHP.
PHP vs. JavaScript
While JavaScript was traditionally viewed as the front-end counterpart to PHP, the addition of Node.js in 2009 turned JavaScript into a full-stack scripting language. PHP can only be used on the server side. Both languages were publicly released in 1995 and have large, active, developer communities.
PHP vs. Ruby
Both PHP and Ruby are used as server-side scripting languages. But the design philosophy is perhaps the biggest difference between the two languages. PHP programming evolved organically from Lerdorf’s personal use case, so its syntax can seem dated when compared with modern programming languages. Ruby was designed with programmer happiness in mind, and it shows in its elegant and powerful syntax.
Why use PHP?
Now that we’ve considered the strengths and weaknesses of PHP and its place in the world of software development, it’s time to answer the main question:
“Why use PHP?”
To summarize, common reasons for using PHP include:
It is popular and powers much of the web, including CMSs like WordPress and Drupal
- It is easy to learn, with a simple syntax and easy-to-follow code documentation
- It is supported and routinely updated by a large and active developer community
- It is flexible and compatible with cloud services, hosting providers, and a variety of web technologies
- It is faster than server-side scripting languages like Python
- It is free and open-source
Generally speaking, PHP is a solid choice for any technology stack that will be using server-side rendering to generate HTML templates for both static and dynamic web pages on your website. It’s also suitable for building plugins and tools that will be used alongside other technologies within a web application such as the WordPress ecosystem.
