PHP, originally known as Personal Home Page, was created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf as a simple scripting language for his personal website. At the time, it was only capable of basic tasks such as collecting form data and displaying simple web pages. However, as the internet continued to grow and evolve, so did PHP. It wasn’t until 1997, when developers Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski rewrote the language’s core, that it truly began to take shape as a powerful web development tool. This new version, known as PHP 3, introduced many significant improvements, including support for databases and the ability to create dynamic web pages. As the demand for dynamic and interactive websites increased, so did the popularity of PHP. In 2000, the release of PHP 4 brought even more improvements, such as improved performance and a more object-oriented approach. This version solidified PHP’s place as one of the leading web development languages. However, it wasn’t until the release of PHP 5 in 2004 that the language truly became a force to be reckoned with. With the addition of new features like improved error handling and the introduction of the Zend engine, PHP became faster, more secure, and more versatile. This led to its widespread adoption by major websites like Facebook, Wikipedia, and WordPress. Today, PHP continues to evolve and improve with each new version. The latest release, PHP 7, introduced significant performance improvements and new features like scalar type declarations and anonymous classes. It has also embraced the latest web development trends, such as support for cloud computing and integration with other technologies. From its humble beginnings as a personal home page script, PHP has come a long way to become one of the top choices for web developers around the world. Its evolution and constant adaptation to the ever-changing web landscape have solidified its position as a leading web development language. And with the ongoing development and support from a dedicated community of developers, it is safe to say that PHP’s evolution is far from over.