PHP, or Personal Home Pages, was created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf as a simple scripting language to help him manage his personal website. However, it didn’t take long for developers to recognize the potential of this language and start using it for web development. With the addition of new features and the release of the first version of PHP in 1995, it quickly gained popularity among web developers for its ease of use and dynamic functionality. As the internet continued to grow, so did the need for more advanced and powerful web development languages. This led to the development of PHP 3 in 1998, which included a more robust object-oriented programming approach and support for databases. This version cemented PHP’s position as a top contender in the world of web development languages. In 2000, the PHP Group released PHP 4, which introduced new features such as XML support and improved performance. This version also marked the beginning of PHP’s widespread adoption by major websites and corporations. However, it wasn’t until the release of PHP 5 in 2004 that PHP truly became a powerful and versatile language. With the addition of features like native support for web services and a new object model, PHP 5 solidified its place as a dominant force in web development. In recent years, PHP has continued to evolve and improve with the release of PHP 7 in 2015, which significantly increased the language’s performance and efficiency. Today, PHP is used by over 80% of all websites, including major players like Facebook and Wikipedia. With its vast community, wide range of frameworks and libraries, and continuous updates and improvements, PHP remains a go-to choice for web developers looking to build powerful and dynamic websites. From its humble beginnings as a simple personal scripting language, PHP has evolved into a powerful and widely-used web development language that shows no signs of slowing down.