An outlook on PHP in 2023-2024

In 2023, PHP development continue to enjoy substantial demand among a variety of programming languages. Since its inception, PHP has undergone significant evolution and has become a preferred choice for building dynamic web solutions. This server-side scripting language is renowned for fast and feature-full toolbox that allows developers to build websites / web applications with just a single tech with connections to the database etc.

According to w3techs,they state that its the most widely used programming language (77%) nowadays on the server side. Personally, I think this is attributed to the most popular CMS on the market, Wordpress.

In my tech journey, I haven’t made PHP my primary choice for nearly six years since I embarked on the JavaScript adventure. However, recent times have brought an interesting twist: a surge in PHP job opportunities right here in Malta. These roles predominantly revolve around two giants of the PHP world: Laravel and the venerable WordPress.

WordPress, a household name, needs no introduction. But let’s shine a spotlight on Laravel, which emerged in 2011 and has been making significant waves lately. It has evolved into a comprehensive solution for web applications, offering features like migrations, ORM, authorization, and authentication. Moreover, it boasts a thriving community that’s always there for support and keeps the updates rolling.

The PHP community is far from dormant, consistently delivering regular updates. The latest iteration, PHP v8.2, ensures the language remains not only free from bugs but also enriched with new features with each release.

As I consider my personal projects’ tech stack, I find myself inclined to embrace PHP more than ever. It provides all the functionality I need, be it for backend development, frontend wizardry, robust database connections, or seamless authentication. That’s precisely why I believe PHP is anything but obsolete in 2023. It continues to thrive and inspire tech enthusiasts like myself.

Create your own Docker with your PHP application

Make sure to have docker installed and running. Follow the installation guide
Create a folder
Inside this folder, create a file called Dockerfile

FROM php:8.0-apache
COPY src/ /var/www/html
EXPOSE 80

Move the file created earlier into src so its src/index.php

<?php
   
   echo "Hello, World from Docker! <br>";
   
?>

From the parent folder, execute the following commands

docker build -t docker-php-helloworld .
sudo docker run -p 80:80 docker-php-helloworld

Visit http://localhost and you should see your very first PHP application hosted on docker