PHP, or Personal Home Page, was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 as a simple tool for tracking visits to his online resume. However, over the years, PHP has evolved into a powerful programming language that is used by millions of websites and developers worldwide. In 1995, Lerdorf released the first version of PHP as a set of Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts written in the C programming language. It was designed to interact with databases and display dynamic web pages, making it an ideal tool for creating dynamic websites. However, the language was limited in its capabilities and lacked important features such as user-defined functions and form handling. In 1997, two developers, Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski, rewrote the PHP core and released version 3, which introduced an improved architecture and new features such as support for Windows and Oracle databases. This marked the beginning of the modern era of PHP and its widespread adoption by developers. In 2000, version 4 was released, which included significant improvements in performance and stability. This version also introduced the Zend Engine, a scripting engine that greatly enhanced PHP’s speed and efficiency. With the growing popularity of PHP, a community of developers emerged, contributing to the language’s development and creating a vast library of open-source scripts and frameworks. In 2004, the long-awaited version 5 was released, which introduced object-oriented programming and improved support for web services. This was a major milestone for PHP, solidifying its position as a powerful programming language. In 2015, PHP 7 was released, with even more optimizations and improvements, making it the fastest and most efficient version yet. Today, PHP is used for a wide range of applications, from simple websites to complex web applications and enterprise systems. Its versatility, ease of use, and vast community support make it a popular choice for developers. The evolution of PHP from a simple tracking tool to a powerful programming language is a testament to its enduring popularity and continuous development. With its latest versions and ongoing updates, it is clear that PHP will continue to evolve and remain a dominant force in the world of web development.