PHP stands for “Hypertext Preprocessor,” and is an open source server-side scripting language that has been used to create dynamic webpages for nearly 20 years. Initially created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf, PHP was designed to simplify the development of dynamic webpages, and allowed developers to quickly build powerful web applications. Over the years, PHP has evolved to become one of the most popular languages for web development, powering some of the world’s most popular websites. In recent years, PHP has evolved to become more efficient and powerful, with the introduction of features such as object-oriented programming, namespaces, and a robust library of built-in functions. Additionally, PHP 7 was released in 2015, and introduced features such as improved performance and simplified syntax, making it easier for developers to create powerful web applications. Today, PHP remains one of the most popular web development languages, and is used by millions of developers around the world.