PHP is a popular programming language for developing dynamic web pages. According to W3Techs, PHP
is used by 77.4% of all the websites whose server-side programming language we know. This means that almost 8 out of 10 websites on the internet are powered by PHP.
Here are some of the most popular websites that use PHP
- WordPress
- Wikipedia
- Slack
- Etsy
- Mailchimp
- Canva
- Indeed
- Zoom
- Investing
Why is PHP so popular?
PHP is a powerful and versatile language that can be used to create a wide variety of web applications. It is also well-suited for developing dynamic websites that interact with databases. PHP is an open-source programming language, which makes it a very affordable option for web developers and has a large and active community of developers, which means that there are many resources available to help you learn and use the PHP language. There are also many PHP frameworks and libraries available, which can make it easier to develop complex web applications. In addition, PHP is a relatively easy language to learn.
You may think that all these features are in other languages like Python or Javascript. Let me tell you that PHP is very cheap and easy to run all you need is a shared host with cpanel that supports PHP and you can upload your “.PHP” files in the public_html folder and, you have a dynamic website, just as simple as that. I have used Node.js for Javascript and Django for Python and I can’t say the server tasks were easier than PHP.
One more thing, there are many open-source CMS (Content management system) and e-commerce platforms that are made with PHP such as
- WordPress, the most popular CMS in the world. that is used by over 40% of all websites.
- Joomla is another popular CMS. It is used by over 3% of all websites.
- Magento is an e-commerce platform that is used by over 2% of all e-commerce websites.
- WooCommerce is an e-commerce plugin that works with WordPress. It is the most popular e-commerce platform, used by over 28% of all e-commerce websites.
Is PHP Dead?
PHP is not dead. It is still a popular programming language for developing websites and web applications. According to the 2022 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, PHP is the 8th most popular programming language. It is also the most popular language for back-end development.
I think because of the way of developing web pages has changed. Now we have many front-end Javascript frameworks for developing modern web applications and single-page applications that make people think PHP is dead. But PHP always works with Javascript with no problems even though you can server-side render these frameworks without the need for node.js.
Vue.js 3 Server-Side Rendering (SSR) With Laravel Tutorial
There are some criticisms about PHP’s security vulnerabilities and outdated syntax and There are newer programming languages that are more secure and easier to use, such as Python and JavaScript. Ok, Let’s meet on Zoom to explain how Facebook is secured.
Why should I learn PHP?
There are many reasons why you should learn PHP
- PHP is one of the most popular programming languages in the world. It is used by over 80% of all websites. This means that there is a large community of developers and resources available for PHP.
- PHP is a relatively easy language to learn, especially for beginners.
- PHP can be used to create a wide variety of web applications including content management systems, complex Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, e-commerce, and social networking sites.
- PHP is a popular language for web development, so there are many job opportunities available for PHP developers.
- PHP is cheap for Hosting, you don’t need cloud hosting, VPS, or a dedicated server to start. You can host your web application on a shared host at the beginning and then upgrade.
A Quick Guide to start learning?
In this section, I will tell you everything you need to know to start learning the language. but you must have a basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript why? HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the three fundamental languages of web development. They are used to create the structure, style, and interactivity of web pages. They are the building blocks of web development. The server language can be used to process data and generate dynamic content.
PHP environment
PHP is a software that you install on your machine to execute “.php” files but you need a server on your machine as well because PHP is a server-side script language which means it runs on web servers. And you may need a database to save your web application data. I recommend using XAMPP.
XAMPP is a free and open-source and incredibly easy to install and to use PHP environment that is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It includes a web server (Apache), and a database (MariaDB – MySQL database).
You will need an editor or IDE to code PHP: There are many different editors and IDEs available, such as Visual Studio Code that I recommend.
Now you are ready to code.
What should you study in PHP?
Here are the most important parts that you must learn to start your career as a PHP developer, and I will cover them in tutorials.
- Basic PHP Syntax.
- All variables – Declaring – scope – data types – Constants – Global Variables – Superglobals.
- PHP string.
- PHP number.
- PHP Arrays.
- PHP Operators.
- PHP Conditional Statements.
- PHP Loops.
- PHP Function & Callback Functions.
- PHP File.
- PHP Forms & PHP File Upload.
- PHP Include Files.
- PHP OOP.
- PHP Cookies & PHP Sessions.
- AJAX – JSON.
- PHP MySQL Database.
- PHP Exceptions.
- PHP Mail Functions.
- PHP Regular Expressions.
Conclusion
PHP is a popular programming language for developing dynamic web pages. PHP is a powerful and versatile language. Almost 8 out of 10 websites on the internet are powered by PHP so PHP is not dead or will be dead soon. There is a large community of developers and resources available for PHP and it is a relatively easy language to learn, especially for beginners. XAMPP is an excellent php environment and Visual Studio Code is a good editor to code.
I hope that was useful information for you, thank you for reading.
