Is PHP Dead?

Is PHP Dead?

Technology is at the forefront of business…especially so in recent years. But we don’t really hear much about PHP in the mainstream media.

Angular, React, Node, js, and Python are all the rage nowadays- even computer science degrees teach the next generation of techs about Java and C languages. Meanwhile, PHP is left on the sidelines.

But is it officially dead? Are you getting tunnel vision over the latest trends in tech?

People have been calling for the death of PHP for some time now, but it still exists almost everywhere.

When anyone mentions PHP, it often comes with an air of derision towards the programming language. According to a report by W3Techs, PHP runs through 79% of the web. Despite its bad reputation in the 90s/00s for port security, PHP has clung to the title of most commonly used server language.

Most of this success is likely due to its affiliation with WordPress, the wildly popular CMS launched back in 2003 – just as the rise of the blogger began. It even managed to bear out Google’s Blogger as the primary non-technical market’s CMS of choice.

A shifting ecosystem

PHP’s close marriage to WordPress has contributed to how the language was viewed by developers. Usually, they credit the theme and plugin development for WordPress more than anything. According to Darwin recruitment, the experience with PHP recruitment shows a consistent downward trend. However, there is a competitive trend in the rise of applications for PHP-related jobs.
Web hosting / dedicated servers

How’s the Theme Market?

With PHP tied to WordPress, custom-made or stock themes and plugin creation appear to be the leading commercial avenues. Creating plugins can be a high passive income for those looking to make extra money; it may take work, but it ultimately pays dividends.

Conclusion

PHP isn’t quite dead, but it isn’t fully alive either — not in an independent manner like JavaScript is currently in the development ecosystem. The server-side language’s relationship with WordPress is intimate and rests on the platform’s long-term uptake by general users. With PHP being an integral part of a content creation ecosystem, it is unlikely to disappear any time soon. Hosting companies also play a role as they support WordPress as the leading CMS, making it much more accessible to general users than other server-side languages like Java and C++. Despite all the chatter about PHP dying, it’s not. Not really. Not as long as WordPress is alive and kicking, and WordPress appears to be doing alright. It is just unfortunate that many legacy PHP codes is tied up with old versions of WordPress that site owners haven’t quite gotten around to updating. The thing with PHP is that it also has strong communities running other PHP frameworks such as Laravel and Symphony — things that I haven’t really explored here specifically. PHP itself is also actively maintained. So overall, PHP is doing just fine.

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