PHP - state of the art

Now 5 years old, PHP has become the most popular language used by web designers. What is making this language so special.

- steep learning curve: PHP was meant to be a language which could be used by anybody, without the need of solid programming skills. It is still true today.

- flexibility: 2 syntaxes are available - functional & object oriented - which are providing the same features. Procedures can be used for User Interface programmers, while experienced programmers who have used C# or Java can use the same object oriented approach for sofisticated backend applications.

- interoperability: PHP can instance .NET, .COM or JAVA object. Connectors can be used to link PHP appication to any database (LDAP, SAP, XML, etc...). PHP is not meant to replace these platform, but to offer a common interface to collect and process data from different sources.

-portability: similar to the JVM (Java virtual machine), PHP can be used on any platform, without re-compilation.

- A techno meant to last: more and more developpers are using PHP. 500 000 today, the number keeps increasing thanks in part to the open source community.

- Performance / Reliability: High Traffic websites tend to go for PHP - French statistics show that 90% of most visited websites are using PHP.

-ROI: all the benefits above have got an impact on the ROI - no license, easy to learn, broad support, reliability, etc.. all these factors contribute to optimise your ROI.