PHP, originally standing for “Personal Home Page,” was created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf as a simple scripting language for his personal website. However, it quickly gained popularity as a tool for creating dynamic web pages, and its name was changed to “Hypertext Preprocessor.” The early versions of PHP were limited in functionality, but its ease of use attracted a large community of developers who contributed to its growth. In 1998, the release of PHP 3 introduced support for object-oriented programming, making it more powerful and flexible. This allowed developers to create more complex and sophisticated web applications. With the release of PHP 4 in 2000, the language evolved even further, adding features such as better error handling, improved performance, and support for databases. These advancements solidified PHP as a popular choice for web development. However, it wasn’t until the release of PHP 5 in 2004 that the language truly became a powerful web development tool. This version introduced many new features, including a more robust object-oriented model, better XML support, and the Zend Engine, which greatly improved performance. The community also played a crucial role in the evolution of PHP, with developers creating numerous open-source frameworks and libraries, making it even more versatile and efficient. In recent years, PHP has continued to evolve with regular updates and releases, incorporating new features and enhancements to keep up with the constantly changing demands of web development. Today, PHP is used by millions of websites and is considered one of the most popular programming languages for web development. Its evolution from a simple scripting language to a powerful tool is a testament to the dedication and innovation of the developers who have contributed to its growth.