The history of PHP can be traced back to 1994 when Rasmus Lerdorf, a Danish-Canadian programmer, created a personal home page tool for his own website. This tool, written in C, allowed him to track visitors to his site and display basic information about them. However, as his website gained popularity and more features were added, Lerdorf realized that his personal home page tool had the potential to become something much bigger. Thus, he released the source code for his tool, calling it “Personal Home Page Tools” or “PHP Tools” for short. This marked the beginning of the evolution of PHP as we know it today.
In 1995, two developers, Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski, rewrote the original PHP Tools and released it as “PHP/FI” (Personal Home Page/Forms Interpreter). This new version included support for web forms, allowing users to interact with websites and submit data. It also introduced the concept of variables and control structures, making PHP a more robust and functional programming language.
As the internet continued to grow in popularity, so did PHP. In 1997, Gutmans and Suraski added support for databases, making it easier to connect websites with databases and manipulate data. This was a major turning point for PHP, as it allowed developers to create dynamic and interactive websites with ease.
In 1998, the first official version of PHP, version 3, was released. It included significant improvements and updates, such as support for sessions and improved database compatibility. This version cemented PHP’s status as a legitimate programming language and led to its widespread adoption by developers around the world.
The early 2000s saw the release of PHP 4, which included even more advanced features and improvements, such as better handling of objects and improved performance. It also saw the rise of popular content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress and Drupal, which were built on PHP. These CMSs played a crucial role in making PHP one of the most popular programming languages in the world.
In 2004, PHP 5 was released, introducing a more powerful and object-oriented programming approach. This version also included the Zend Engine, which greatly improved performance and stability. Over the next decade, PHP continued to evolve, with new versions being released regularly and adding even more advanced features and improvements.
Today, PHP is one of the most widely used programming languages in the world, powering millions of websites and applications. Its evolution from a simple personal home page tool to a robust and versatile programming language is a testament to the dedication and innovation of its creators and the community of developers who continue to contribute to its development.
