Why is PHP losing popularity?

A comparison of PHP's user base to languages like Python and JavaScript on platforms such as LinkedIn and Reddit reveals a significant disparity. Its ranking on the TIOBE Index has also fallen, from 7th to 13th place.

Is PHP obsolete? Not quite, but its downward trend is undeniable. While Python and JavaScript continue to attract new developers, PHP struggles to overcome its inherent limitations and outdated reputation.

For a long time, PHP was strongly associated with WordPress, often dismissed by some as "not real programming." This perception is largely outdated; PHP has undergone significant evolution with newer versions, and frameworks like Laravel and Symfony have enhanced its capabilities and elegance. Despite these improvements, developer migration continues.

The Underlying Reasons:

PHP's core design suffers from early architectural choices made to address relatively simple backend tasks. Unlike JavaScript, which has learned from its past and significantly improved, PHP retains considerable inconsistencies that hinder its progress.

Illustrative Examples:

• Inconsistent function naming and argument ordering.
• Arrays defaulting to hash keys, leading to inconsistencies in functions like array_merge. Workarounds like SplFixedArray exist, but shouldn't be necessary.
• Even basic tasks, such as using preg_replace with regular expressions, frequently fail in PHP, while working perfectly in Python.

These problems are exacerbated by PHP's reliance on frameworks to compensate for its flaws, in contrast to Python and JavaScript, which prioritize core language enhancements.

Even Facebook (Meta) developed Hack to mitigate PHP's weaknesses, but it failed to achieve widespread adoption.

My personal experience spans PHP's early days to the present, where I still maintain Laravel projects. However, for many of us, continued use stems from necessity rather than preference—migrating existing codebases is often prohibitively expensive.

To maintain its relevance, PHP needs to actively address user feedback, acknowledge its shortcomings, and undergo substantial evolution. Otherwise, it risks becoming another COBOL—surviving, but primarily for legacy system maintenance.

What's your perspective on PHP's future prospects?

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