PHP

PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a server-side scripting language designed for web development. Despite criticism, it powers a significant portion of the web, including WordPress, which runs over 40% of all websites.

Key Characteristics

• Server-side: Executes on the web server
• Embedded in HTML: Can mix with markup (though modern PHP doesn't)
• Loosely typed: Dynamic typing with optional type hints (PHP 7+)
• Request-based: Fresh state on each request (shared-nothing)
• Extensive standard library: Built-in functions for common tasks

Modern PHP (8.x)

PHP has evolved significantly:

// Constructor property promotion
class User {
    public function __construct(
        public readonly string $name,
        public readonly string $email,
    ) {}
}

// Named arguments
$user = new User(name: 'Alice', email: 'alice@example.com');

// Match expressions
$status = match($code) {
    200 => 'OK',
    404 => 'Not Found',
    500 => 'Server Error',
    default => 'Unknown',
};

// Null-safe operator
$city = $user?->address?->city;

Popular Frameworks

Framework	Style	Best For
Laravel	Full-stack, elegant	Most PHP projects
Symfony	Components, enterprise	Large applications
Slim	Micro-framework	Simple APIs
Laminas	Enterprise	Zend successor

What We Like

• Mature ecosystem: Decades of packages and patterns
• Laravel: Modern, developer-friendly framework
• Hosting: Runs anywhere, cheap hosting options
• WordPress: Massive CMS ecosystem
• PHP 8: Modern language features, JIT compiler

What We Don't Like

• Inconsistent standard library: Function naming and parameter order
• Legacy stigma: Old PHP code gives the language a bad reputation
• Deployment: Requires web server configuration
• Not async by default: Request-based model limits concurrency

When to Use PHP

• WordPress development or customisation
• Quick web applications with Laravel
• Existing PHP codebase maintenance
• Budget-conscious hosting requirements
• Teams with PHP expertise

Best Practices

1. Use a framework: Laravel or Symfony, not raw PHP
2. Use Composer: Modern dependency management
3. Enable strict types: declare(strict_types=1);
4. Follow PSR standards: PSR-4 autoloading, PSR-12 coding style
5. Use static analysis: PHPStan or Psalm