PHP

What is PHP?

A popular general-purpose scripting language especially suited to web development, originally designed for creating dynamic web pages. Powers over 77% of all websites with a known server-side programming language. Features extensive standard library, built-in web development capabilities, and excellent database integration. Powers major platforms like WordPress, Facebook (historically), and Wikipedia. Known for its ease of use, wide hosting support, and large ecosystem. Continues to evolve with modern features and performance improvements.

When to use it

• Essential for server-side web development, building dynamic websites, content management systems, and web applications.
• Perfect for WordPress development, e-commerce platforms, and traditional web applications.
• Ideal when you need wide hosting support, easy deployment, or are working with existing PHP codebases.
• Commonly used in LAMP stack, for building CMSs, forums, and web applications that require server-side processing.

When NOT to use it

• Modern single-page applications - JavaScript/TypeScript frameworks are better
• When you need strong typing - TypeScript or statically typed languages are better
• Real-time applications - Node.js or Go handle concurrency better
• When building APIs for mobile apps - Node.js or Python have better ecosystems

Related Technologies

More in Language, Backend, LAMP

Learning Resources