PHP is one of the most commonly used programming languages in the world. When you read an article on Wikipedia, responded to a message on Slack, or even like a post on Facebook, you are engaging with an application built on PHP.
Doing anything online without regularly coming into contact with PHP is actually almost impossible. A 2019 survey found that 78.8% of all websites on the internet are programmed with PHP.
Being so popular has created a lot of advantages for using PHP to create web projects, but it also comes with disadvantages that must be considered. Both the advantages and disadvantages are rooted in PHP’s surprising route to widespread use.
PHP – the organic language
It all began in 1994 when programmer Rasmus Lerdorf created several programs to help him manage his personal home page (and in fact, PHP stands for “personal home page”). Lerdorf published these tools the next year, and with the help of other programmers a second version was released two years later.
According to Lerdorf, PHP’s evolution into a programming language was not planned. “I have absolutely no idea how to write a programming language, I just kept adding the next logical step on the way,” he said in 2013.
The fact that PHP grew organically, responding to the needs of developers step by step, ensured that PHP became more and more useful, and more and more popular, over time.
This popularity has in turn created even more advantages for using PHP, but also has made the language a bigger target for security threats. PHP’s unplanned nature has also led to inconsistencies which later versions have been forced to correct.
Whether you are a PHP fan or not, this is a language that cannot be ignored. Here is the Amdaris quick guide to PHP – when to use it, and how to use it best:
Which types of projects best fit PHP?
PHP is popular across a huge majority of the world’s websites for a reason. It is particularly good for projects which make use of:
● Web applications (either server-side rendering or single-page applications)
● REST APIs
● Microservices and serverless solutions
Which projects are not best suited for PHP?
Just because PHP is popular should not make it the automatic choice however. We think PHP is generally not a good choice for:
● Real time queuing solutions
● Data driven applications with distributed domain models
● Complex and large enterprise applications
Top 7 advantages for using PHP
PHP has some serious strengths for the right project:
● PHP makes it easy to quick-start a web application
● It is open source, and benefits from a vast, global community of users
● It has a stable and powerful library support
● It is easy to install and has cross-platform availability
● It has mature frameworks, including Symfony and Laravel, which makes it easy to quickly web applications
● It has built-in database connection modules
● Hosting availability is widespread. PHP applications and services can be hosted practically everywhere
Top 3 disadvantages for using PHP
● PHP has no compile-time checking (the process of instantly checking for syntax errors during development). Not spotting errors instantly makes it easier for them to creep into code.
● Security can be a problem. PHP being used so widely makes it a target for hackers. This is especially true when websites use old, non-supported versions of PHP (which includes a shocking 53% of all websites, worldwide). Using PHP for an application requires expending additional effort to make sure it is secure.
● PHP suffers from poor error handling (the software which kicks in when things go wrong on an application).
Why is Amdaris the right development partner for using PHP?
If you are considering using PHP, Amdaris is your perfect partner, as we have extensive knowledge and experience with PHP projects. An impressive one out of five Amdaris developers is rated as a PHP expert.
More importantly, Amdaris is a “technology agnostic” company. We only recommend the software that is a best fit for our clients and for their projects. If PHP is the right choice for your needs, we will tell you. If not, we can tell you what you should consider instead.
What next?
If you would like to talk to someone at Amdaris about PHP, or any other programming language, just get in touch.
Email ask@amdaris.com and let us know about your next plans. We will help you choose the best technology for making your project a success!