PHP, which stands for Hypertext Preprocessor, has come a long way since its humble beginnings as a personal home page scripting language in 1994. Originally created by Rasmus Lerdorf as a tool to track visitors to his online resume, PHP quickly gained popularity for its ease of use and flexibility. In the early 2000s, the release of PHP 4 brought about significant improvements and made it a viable option for creating dynamic web pages. With the addition of a new and improved Zend Engine, PHP became a powerful programming language capable of handling complex tasks and processing large amounts of data. This led to its widespread adoption by major companies such as Yahoo and Facebook, solidifying its position as a top choice for web development. In 2014, the release of PHP 5.6 brought about even more improvements, including better performance and security enhancements. Today, PHP is used by over 80% of all websites, making it one of the most popular and widely used programming languages in the world. Its evolution from a simple tool for personal websites to a robust and reliable language for building dynamic and interactive web applications is a testament to its continuous growth and adaptability. With the recent release of PHP 7, which boasts even faster performance and improved error handling, it is clear that PHP will continue to evolve and remain a dominant force in the world of web development.