It is objectively awful, but it has been getting better over time. Its biggest claim to fame is that it's ubiquitous. So your $1-a-month bargain hosting will have it. Together with MySQL. An unbeatable combination.
I use it. I hold my nose, but I get results. I'd prefer to use Python, but that basically didn't happen for web hosting, therefore it won't happen.
And yes, it changes significantly with every release. That's too bad.
The programming style and use is entirely up to you so its unfair to say its objectively awful, just because something can be used in a way you disapprove doesn't make it intrinsically bad.
I thought near enough all server providers that permitted user PHP supported Python and Pearl?
The release format has gone the same way as nearly everything else, you get 4 years supported releases, they do discuss creating a LTS version but they have been very busy the last few years with some major enhancements. Not forgetting there are other versions of PHP around as well as zend if you want a different release/support schedule.
I wrote a site in 2013 which was intentionally designed to be long lived using PHP5.3, it lasted 10 years for supported releases which isn't bad, in practice its still in use on PHP 7.4
The one big criticism that could be made is that it hasn't been standardised which is amazing considering its extensive use.
I find the mysqli interface a bit clunky and there are a number of sql frameworks around which indicates it could be improved.
Statistics: Posted by pidd — Tue Dec 02, 2025 11:44 am