PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a popular server-side scripting language used for web development. From its humble beginnings as a simple tool for creating personal home pages, PHP has evolved into a powerful and versatile language that is now used by millions of websites worldwide. The history of PHP dates back to 1994 when a Danish programmer, Rasmus Lerdorf, created a set of Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts to track visitors to his online resume. These scripts were later expanded and rewritten in the programming language C, thus forming the basis of PHP. In 1997, two Israeli developers, Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski, rewrote the PHP codebase and introduced the revolutionary concept of a “preprocessor” which allowed for faster execution and the ability to embed PHP code directly into HTML documents. This proved to be a game-changer for web development, as it provided a more seamless integration of dynamic content into web pages. With the release of PHP 3 in 1998, the language gained widespread popularity and became the go-to choice for developers. The next major version, PHP 4, introduced new features such as object-oriented programming and improved database integration, solidifying PHP’s position as a powerful tool for building dynamic websites. However, it wasn’t until the release of PHP 5 in 2004 that the language truly matured. This version brought significant improvements in terms of performance, security, and stability, making it even more appealing to developers. Today, PHP is used by popular websites such as Facebook, Wikipedia, and WordPress, and continues to evolve with regular updates and new versions. With its wide adoption and continuous development, it’s clear that PHP has come a long way from its early days as a simple tool for personal home pages and has firmly established itself as a powerful language for web development.