As a developer, you have several options of languages to choose from for your project. Several new languages are available in the market. But still, many developers prefer PHP over others. PHP has many big platforms, such as WordPress, Drupal, etc. There are many reasons for choosing PHP. Today, 80% of the websites on the internet are a product of PHP. Even today, PHP is a large platform for web development. Its new updated versions are making it better with new features. Now, let us take a look at PHP in detail.
PHP
PHP is an acronym for Hypertext Preprocessor. It was designed by Rasmus Lerdorf and launched in 1995. It originally stood for Personal Home Processor. It is a general-purpose language for web development. It can create dynamic page contents, encrypt data, and control user access. It is compatible with almost all servers and platforms. Such as Windows, OS X, etc. It is freely available for all. In PHP, we are not limited to HTML as output. We can output almost every type of file, like images, PDFs, XML, and XHTML. PHP language improves itself with every new update and takes every feedback seriously. On comparing PHP 5 with PHP 7, its performance and speed increase 2-3 times. Developers use PHP as its learning curve is easy as compared to other languages.
How is PHP efficient for Web Development?
There is a list of features that makes PHP an efficient language for web development. Some of them are
1. In PHP, we can make any change and update in coding without any hassle.
2. It supports reusable components as well as has predefined functions.
3. PHP web development is stable and user-friendly. as compared to other programming languages.
4. Developers can use it with extensions and add-ons also. It will help them with web development efficiently.
5. PHP programming also has a well-structured library. These libraries help in speed and flawless coding.
6. PHP has an embed-ability which allows its code to be embedded with HTML language easily.
Is PHP programming still used by developers?
Yes, PHP programming is still used by developers for programming their web applications. PHP language is a hub of facilities and simplicity. You can learn it easily and start using it in no time. It has cross-platform applications, and compatibility with many servers. It supports several types of documents and files for output. Some of its features are-
1. Simple and easy to learn - This language is very logical and well-structured. Its coding is very simple and easy to learn. The syntax of PHP is also simple and well-organized. Its command functions are easy to use. It also supports reusable components and has pre-defined functions. This will save developers time and effort.
2. Cost-efficient - PHP is available for free to all. You do not need to pay any download or licensing fee. It is an open-source language that saves budget. All tools and features are easily available to developers. It is cost-efficient as you can use a full-fledged framework with a bare cost.
3. Cross-platform compatibility - PHP is compatible with almost every platform of the operating system. It is a platform-independent framework. It can be integrated with Other programming languages and databases too.
4. Employees availability - PHP is one of the oldest languages available in the market. That’s why it is easy to find employees to program PHP. It is an advantage for companies.
5. Improving - Developers believe that PHP is improving with every new update. With every new update, many new features attract developers to use PHP. Also, for commercial purposes, PHP is the best choice.
6. Flexibility - PHP is very flexible. It is integrated with HTML, XML, JavaScript, etc. PHP can run on almost every platform. Such as Windows, Unix, Linux, etc. Also, we can make any change even after the start of the project. This will save developers time.
7. Security - The security of every language depends on the knowledge and expertise of developers. PHP has some in-built features and tools that protect web applications. These tools will help developers to work without any insecurity.
8. Tools support - PHP supports many tools that work as a helping hand for developers. Some of its tools are
All these tools will make the developer's work easy and effortless.
Popular brands that use PHP
PHP is popular among startups for its server-side application logic. Many popular companies are using it because of its end-to-end computing infrastructure. Approximately 40,000 companies are using PHP for web development. Some giants that are using PHP are:
1. Facebook
2. Wikipedia
3. Tumblr
4. Slack
5. MailChimp
6. Etsy
7. WordPress
All these companies believe that PHP is an enormous language for web development. PHP can help them to grow by its distinctive features. It is great to know that Facebook was primarily developed using PHP. Its entire code is written in PHP. With the rise of its PHP 7, it has become more popular among companies.
Conclusion
This is all about the PHP programming language. PHP is a kind of language that can develop any kind of web application. Its flexibility, scalability, learning curve, documentation, and everything attract developers to use it. It is a simple, reliant, useful, and front-end development language. Any inexperienced person can use it easily if he has some knowledge of any language. Also, PHP web development gives more control to the developers. PHP’s features are uncountable. Many developers think that PHP is just old and useless programming. But I don’t think so, as it provides us with a lot of facilities and features. PHP web development is here to stay and will not die in the near future also. PHP is growing and will grow gradually.
