PHP, which stands for Hypertext Preprocessor, is a popular programming language used for creating dynamic web pages and applications. It was initially created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf as a simple set of Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts for tracking visits to his online resume. It was originally called Personal Home Page Tools and was only capable of creating basic web pages. However, as more and more people began to use it, it evolved into a more powerful language and was renamed to PHP/FI (Personal Home Page/Form Interpreter). In 1997, two developers, Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski, rewrote the codebase and released PHP 3, which introduced a more robust and modular architecture, making it easier to add new features. This version gained widespread popularity and was used by major websites such as Yahoo and Wikipedia. The release of PHP 4 in 2000 brought significant improvements, including better support for web databases and the ability to handle XML. This version also introduced the Zend Engine, a virtual machine that greatly improved the performance and stability of PHP. In 2004, PHP 5 was released, featuring significant improvements in object-oriented programming and better support for developing large-scale applications. The most recent release, PHP 7, was launched in 2015 and brought major performance enhancements, making it the most popular version of PHP used today. Over the years, PHP has become the go-to language for web development, powering over 80% of all websites on the internet. It has a large and active community of developers constantly working to improve the language and add new features. Its ease of use, flexibility, and compatibility with various web servers and databases have contributed to its widespread adoption. From its humble beginnings as a personal home page tool, PHP has grown into a powerful and versatile programming language, used by millions of developers to create dynamic and interactive websites and applications.