A Letter from PHP to Developers
Dear Developer,
It’s me, PHP. Yes, that PHP, the language you like to laugh about on meetups. You have critiqued me for years, compared me to newer, shinier options, and called me outdated. Yet, despite all that, I still quietly power over 75% of the web. I think it is time we have a talk.
I Was Born Before the Trends You Love
When I came into existence in 1995, the internet was a chaotic and uncharted space full of potential. I was designed for simplicity, to help developers build dynamic websites quickly and easily.
At the time, no one was talking about Object-Oriented Programming, functional programming, or buzzwords like dependency injection, event-driven architectures, or microservices. These are all the fancy trends you flaunt now, but I existed long before these ideas took root.
I did not evolve alongside them immediately, and for that, I have been criticized. But the truth is, I was never meant to be trendy. My purpose was to solve real problems, and I succeeded.
Stop Blaming Me for Your Bad Code
I have been labeled the poster child for bad code, but let us be honest. The problem is not me; it is how I have been used.
I gave you freedom, perhaps too much of it. But freedom is not the same as chaos. If you wrote spaghetti code, ignored error handling, or left vulnerabilities open, that is on you, not me. A language does not inherently produce bad code; developers do.
Take WordPress, for example. It powers 43% of all websites on the internet and is written in—you guessed it—me. That is not “bad code.” That is scalability on a massive level.
Security Is a Shared Responsibility
I understand that I have been blamed for security issues. Do I deserve that blame? Not entirely. A SQL injection vulnerability does not just “happen.” It results from a developer ignoring best practices, like using prepared statements or sanitizing inputs.
I have come a long way. My latest versions address many of the complaints developers had about my past. If someone is still using PHP 5, which lost support in 2019, should I be blamed for the vulnerabilities that follow? Security is a shared responsibility.
I Have Evolved
Let us not dwell on the past. Today, I am much more than what I was in the 1990s.
• With PHP 8, I now offer features like type declarations, union types, named arguments, and Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation. These advancements make me up to three times faster than my earlier versions.
• Frameworks like Laravel and Symfony have shown that I am not just for small projects but can handle enterprise-level applications with ease.
• I now support asynchronous programming, thanks to tools like ReactPHP and Swoole, so yes, I can handle “modern” tasks.
Let us also not forget my reliability. I power some of the largest platforms in the world.
• Facebook started with me.
• Wikipedia, one of the most visited websites globally, still depends on me.
• WordPress, as I mentioned earlier, runs nearly half the internet.
A Good Developer Can Build Great Things
Here is the truth. A good developer can create something amazing in any language, including me. If you write efficient, secure, and scalable code, the tool you use matters far less than your skill. If you blame me for your struggles, maybe it is time to take a closer look at your practices.
I Am Still Here
I know I am not Python, Rust, or JavaScript. I will never be the hottest new thing. But when you need something that just works, something affordable, dependable, and adaptable, you know where to find me.
I am not asking for your love. I am asking for your respect. We have built the internet together, you and I. Whether you admit it or not, you know the truth. You could not have done it without me.
Don't you agree? I'm happy to discuss in the comments.
With persistence and humility,
PHP