PHP is an open source, server-side scripting language for building dynamic web applications. According to W3techs April 2011 report, PHP is used by 76.2% of all the websites whose server-side programming language is known. Today, PHP is the most popular dynamic language in use on the web, leaving behind ASP.NET and Java that have just 22.7% and 3.8% usage respectively as server side scripting language.*
Encouraging aesthetics, performance and flexibility at affordable prices, PHP is the ultimate choice for most programmers, who prefer hassle-free programming. Facebook is the ultimate proof of PHP’s flexibility, robustness and scalability. Despite the fact that new languages are being developed all the time for fulfilling scripting needs, PHP continues to be the favorite choice of technology geeks because of its easy of use and cross-platform operability. And, it is now fifth most used language for web application, according to TIOBE Programming Community Index.**
There are reasons to why PHP stays the favorite scripting language for web developers, the most important ones are listed below. If you are looking to select a language for your web project, here is why you should choose PHP:
- Stable and Secure:- PHP is capable of developing powerful web applications that are scalable up to a very large number of users. PHP is stable and secure, robust enough for business-critical applications needing constant up-time and high security. In addition, organisations like Zend provide performance enhancing tools for PHP such as sophisticated caching, content compression and code acceleration to enhance scalability even further.
- Rapid and Easy deployment:- Development of frameworks like Zend Framework, CodeIgniter, Symfony and CakePHP has pushed the php in the right direction. By using a framework, you will be able to save lots of time, avert the need of producing repetitive code and can build application rapidly as per your customer’s specific needs.
- Cost:- PHP is free and open source. You can download the latest version any time, free of cost. This is also preferred by most of the starters, who are making a new entry in the online market. Businesses with limited budget can easily afford PHP without compromising on the quality.
- Portable:- PHP is available for every operating system. PHP is cross-platform and can be deployed across platforms. Web solutions written in PHP run over Apache, Tomcat, IIS, nginx, and every other popular web server. PHP development can be done on a Windows environment, on any Linux distribution and even on the Mac.
- Database Integration:- It can be integrated with many database systems. In addition to MySQL, you can directly connect to sqlite, PostgreSQL, Filepro, Oracle, and DB2 among others.
- Built-in Libraries:- Because PHP was developed for use on the web, it has many built-in functions for executing many web-related tasks. It allows you to create GIF images on the fly, connect to other network services, send email, work with cookies, and generate PDF documents etc. New capabilities and libraries are regularly contributed by the vast PHP community.
- Performance:- PHP works on a traditional web stack; the most common being the LAMP stack. Along-with PHP, most PHP apps make use of the Apache web server and the MySQL database. The overall stack is a technologically efficient and effective solution offering great performance improvements over the traditional development stacks and tool-sets.
- Advanced Usability:- PHP also offers various advance features to build websites more attractive and user-friendly. There are numerous templating and analytics engines available for PHP that not only help in making aesthetic websites, but also provide a webmaster measurable information on visitor traffic and activities on the website.
- Flexibility:- PHP is very easy and simple to extend this language to meet the custom needs of organizations because of its modular structure that can be integrated with a broad range of libraries, including, amongst many, those for graphics and Extensible Markup Language (XML).
- Community:- PHP is supported by a vibrant community, estimated to consist of about 5 million developers that share code, evangelize about PHP, support each other to improve the language and increase its capabilities manifold.
- Different Framworks to choose:- The PHP frameworks follow some design pattern that give freedom to developers and users to make code clean, more usable and extensible for future purpose. The Popular PHP frameworks like Zend Framework, CakePHP, CodeIgniter, Symfony follows Model View Controller(MVC) design pattern which separates business logic from user interface making the code cleaner and easy to use. MVC and RAD can be used independently of the rest of the framework, allowing you to select those pieces of the framework that solve your development problems without committing to an entire way of development.
- PHP ecosystem:- The ecosystem and the solutions around PHP have fully developed that make it a strong contender for driving standardization within the organizations. Strong support from companies like Zend, Symfony, Codeigniter and its community, plus with investment by companies likes IBM, Oracle, Adobe, and Microsoft, PHP has now evolved to a full-blown ecosystem.
Having said all of that, today there are few solutions that are as cross-platform and interoperable as PHP for companies who are are looking to do more with less to stay competitive.
OSSCube, A Division of Happiest Minds is also the world’s first Zend Centre of Excellence, housing best of breed PHP expertise and development practices, which have established as a ‘preferred partner’ for Outsourced Product Development engagements globally.
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*statistic http://w3techs.com/technologies/history_overview/programming_language
** http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.htmlÂ
Vippan Kumar is a Marketing and Communications professional with 9 years experience working in the dynamic B2B marketing environment. He spends his energy in strategizing, writing, reviewing a variety of content for demand generation and pre-sales support. He enjoys developing company literature like web content, whitepapers, case studies, blogs and opinion posts for different channels. He has a keen interest in digital transformation and next-generation technology like IoT, AI, and Analytics. He always likes to learn new skills. Reading, volunteering, and sports are his hobbies.
