PHP is a widely used web application platform and is considered among the most popular of web application languages used by PHP developers globally. It is claimed that at the end of 2013 more than 244 million websites have used PHP. It is simple to use and this is the main reason for developers with PHP app companies preferring the PHP language.
Of late, questions on the future of PHP have been raised with many advocating to do away with PHP and replace it with a more advanced languages and development interface – preferably Java.
But PHP has its own share of loyalists that argue that the simple procedures involved in PHP cannot be equalled by any other language.
Where it started and where it is at present:
PHP has come out successful in the past years – and its success lies in being relevant for such a long time, despite the technology around it changed so much in the same time. It started as a collection of tools to record traffic and has grown to becoming an object oriented language blossoming into a full-blown web development technology platform. At present, it is the most important language that people are turning to while coding.
What is in store for PHP in the coming years?
It has to be seen how PHP will change according to the situation and will update itself with the changing needs of the web. A few PHP loyalists have agreed that time has come when individuals staking their faith on PHP must address the few problems that the holistic platform suffers from. The language has been inconsistent and there is much duplication in core functionality.
PHP has managed to stave off competition from the likes of Java and ColdFusion – and will continue to do so. But it still has a lot of competition yet to face. ASP.net, Ruby- on- Rails framework few of such languages that can be a threat to the PHP.
PHP did come up with the model-view- container framework to counter the threat from Ruby-on-Rails. But this also highlights the simplicity of the PHP language and how it can be copied to any of the advanced interfaces and frameworks that are developed once in a while.
The biggest advantage that PHP has is its huge online community. The PHP language is used to create scripts. Even software applications like video-streaming and content management systems are based on PHP. Drupal, Zen Cart, Joomia, WordPress are a few examples.
Developers in the community have access to add PHP scripts and suggest changes and add features to the core PHP package but the packaging issues of PHP are controlled by Zend. This again reflects that PHP has enough of developers and a good administrator team to control the original PHP package from getting weakened with sub-standard coding. PHP has always been considered as limited to web applications but it can be used to create stand alone desktop applications too.
W3techs.com reports that PHP is used by 81.7 percent of all websites. It is also claimed by other sources that the latest PHP version 5.4 holds 74 percent control while the previous version of PHP5.3 controls only 26 percent.
In conclusion it can be said PHP has withstood competition earlier and given the community stay put to their task, it has every reason to continue to lead in the future.
Enterprises investing on PHP apps development should continue with the vigour and zeal that have led to the success of the PHP in the past.
Source by Cyrus Shella
