PHP

What is PHP?

PHP is the most widely used server-side scripting language on the web. More than 75% of all websites with a known server-side technology run on PHP, including WordPress, Wikipedia and Facebook (originally). With PHP 8.x, the language has made a huge leap in performance and modern features.

Why PHP is useful

PHP is the backbone of the web and remains relevant thanks to constant improvement:

• 75%+ of the web: WordPress, Drupal, Magento, Laravel — the web runs on PHP
• PHP 8.x: JIT compiler, named arguments, enums, fibers — modern language features
• Low barrier to entry: Quick to learn and widely supported by every hosting provider
• Mature ecosystem: Composer, PHPUnit, Symfony components and more

Time savings with PHP

PHP runs out-of-the-box on virtually every web server. The broad support and enormous ecosystem significantly accelerate development.

Hidden features that often go unused

Modern PHP is much more powerful than most people think:

• Fibers: Asynchronous programming in PHP 8.1 for high-concurrency applications.
• Attributes: Add metadata to classes and methods (similar to decorators).
• Enums: Native enumerations since PHP 8.1 with methods and interfaces.
• FFI: Call C libraries from PHP for performance-critical operations.
• Preloading: Load PHP files into memory at server start for faster requests.
• Swoole/RoadRunner: High-performance PHP servers that run persistently.

Integrations with other tools

PHP integrates with many other tools and services:

• WordPress & Drupal: PHP is the language behind the most popular CMS platforms.
• MySQL & PostgreSQL: Native database drivers with PDO for database-agnostic code.
• Laravel & Symfony: Modern PHP frameworks for professional applications.