PHP, originally known as Personal Home Page, was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 as a simple tool to track visits to his online resume. It was a server-side scripting language that allowed web developers to easily embed dynamic content into their HTML pages. However, it wasn’t until 1995, when Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski rewrote the language’s core, that PHP began to evolve into the popular server-side language it is today.

The release of PHP 3 in 1998 marked a significant milestone in its evolution. It introduced support for object-oriented programming, making it more versatile and powerful. As a result, PHP gained popularity among developers and was adopted by major companies like Yahoo and Wikipedia.

In the early 2000s, PHP continued to evolve, with the release of PHP 4 in 2000 and PHP 5 in 2004. These versions added new features such as a more robust object model, improved error handling, and better support for web services. With each update, PHP became more efficient, secure, and user-friendly, solidifying its position as a leading server-side language.

In 2014, PHP underwent a major transformation with the release of PHP 7. This version brought significant performance improvements, making it up to twice as fast as its predecessor. It also introduced new features like return type declarations and anonymous classes, making it more modern and in line with other popular languages.

Today, PHP is used by over 78% of all websites with server-side programming, including major players like Facebook and WordPress. Its continuous evolution and updates have made it a popular choice for web developers due to its simplicity, flexibility, and widespread community support.

In conclusion, what started as a personal project for tracking website visits has evolved into a powerful and widely-used server-side language. With its constant updates, PHP continues to adapt to the ever-changing needs of web development, solidifying its place as one of the most popular and reliable languages in the industry.