> PHP just started so, so, so far down, it's had more to overcome than most. This is probably fair. :) I think PHP tried to combine Python's "batteries include

> PHP just started so, so, so far down, it's had more to overcome than most. This is probably fair. :) I think PHP tried to combine Python's "batteries included" approach with Perl's "more than one way to do it" style, but did it in a pretty disorganized way that created lots of Catch-22 issues later -- when you get that popular, it makes backward-incompatible changes fraught with peril, even if you're addressing obviously craptacular past mistakes. I think PHP has become pretty solid in version 7+ on, although my feelings about using it remain mixed. I've joked in the past that it's stopped being a cargo cult version of Perl and is now a cargo cult version of Java.