PHP is a popular open-source programming language that has gone through a rapid evolution since its inception in 1994. Initially created as a set of Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts to track visitors to Rasmus Lerdorf’s personal website, PHP (which stands for “Personal Home Page”) quickly gained popularity among web developers due to its ease of use and ability to generate dynamic web pages. With the release of version 3 in 1998, PHP became a full-fledged programming language, allowing developers to build more complex and interactive websites. This was a significant turning point for PHP, as it started to attract a larger community of developers and gain widespread adoption. In the early 2000s, PHP caught the attention of major companies like Yahoo and Wikipedia, who started using it for their websites. This led to the development of PHP 4 in 2000, which introduced a more advanced object-oriented programming (OOP) model and improved performance. By this point, PHP had become one of the most popular programming languages for web development, and it continued to evolve and improve with the release of PHP 5 in 2004. This version brought significant updates, including better support for OOP and the introduction of the Zend Engine, which greatly improved the language’s speed and stability. As PHP continued to grow in popularity, it also faced criticisms for its messy and inconsistent syntax. In response, the PHP community released PHP 7 in 2015, which addressed these issues and introduced a more modern and streamlined syntax. This version also brought significant performance improvements, making PHP even more powerful and efficient. Today, PHP is used by over 80% of all websites, including some of the most popular and complex ones on the internet. Its evolution from a simple scripting tool to a powerful programming language highlights its adaptability and versatility, making it a favorite among web developers worldwide. And with the recent release of PHP 8 in 2020, which brings even more improvements, it is clear that PHP will continue to evolve and remain a dominant force in the world of web development.