PHP is an acronym that stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. Previously, the letters stood for Personal Home Page, but the new name is more appropriate. PHP is a programming language used to create dynamic web pages. WordPress, among others, is written in PHP based on open-source software.
The Role of PHP in the Programming World
Anyone working with the scripting language PHP is usually also working with the well-known HTML. HTML is a markup language used to create the content on a web page. With HTML, you can add text, images, and videos, for example. However, the overall layout is difficult or impossible to organize using HTML alone. For this, CSS is used in combination with JavaScript. PHP is used to add functions and dynamic elements, such as loading articles.
The Pros and Cons of PHP
Compared to other scripting and/or programming languages, PHP has a number of clear advantages, as well as some disadvantages. Let’s start with the advantages of PHP:
- PHP runs smoothly on all operating systems.
- This is an open-source computer program, so you can use it for free.
- PHP is a phenomenon that performs reliably under all circumstances.
- Numerous plugins and frameworks are available.
- Opinions are divided on whether PHP is easy to learn. See below for more on that. But one thing is certain: there is a vast amount of (free) information available online, so if you get stuck, you can always look up additional instructions on the internet.
According to experts, the following disadvantages counterbalance the advantages of PHP:
- According to some, there is (too) little structure to be found in the PHP scripting language.
- PHP is often seen by inexperienced programmers as difficult to fully grasp. However, those who already have experience with programming languages, coding languages, and/or scripting languages clearly have an advantage.
- PHP is difficult to combine with machine learning.
PHP: Always update, or maybe not?
If you manage your website using a CMS that also utilizes PHP, and you receive a recommendation to update your PHP, it naturally makes sense to accept this recommendation. Those who use the latest version of PHP can ensure that their website loads faster and functions better than others.
But be aware: it is well known that not every version of PHP functions equally well on every CMS. In other words, it is not entirely certain that the latest version is the most suitable for your specific situation. For example, with the Magento CMS, it’s best to use PHP 7.2, while with the Drupal CMS, you’ll get the best performance with PHP 7.4. Do you use WordPress? Then you can download the most recent version of PHP: 8.0. Information about this is usually available on the CMS’s website.
