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The only thing I agree with here is that it is indeed easy to get started with PHP. It's also easy to get started with BASIC. You should not be using either to

The only thing I agree with here is that it is indeed easy to get started with PHP. It's also easy to get started with BASIC. You should not be using either to write a serious application in 2014.

k1kingy 12y ago
Why exactly? Why shouldn't you use PHP in 2014?
- SapphireSun 12y ago
  As an author of a PHP app, it's because there are better languages with better defaults out there. I don't understand why you would use a language with clunky libraries and hacked modules when you could use python, ruby, or node (amongst other great choices). Why would you choose something kinda grimy when you don't have to?
- ashleyw 12y ago
  Because there are nicer, faster and more sturdy languages available. Ruby, Python, Go, and JavaScript, to name a few. The age-old "PHP is so easy to deploy!!1" rhetoric doesn't really hold true anymore when it basically refers to shitty, oversold shared hosting. PaaS offerings like Heroku make virtually ANY language stupidly simple and cheap to deploy these days.
vectorpush 12y ago
I think PHP is lackluster, inconsistent, and feels pretty clumsy in general, but to suggest that it doesn't qualify as a candidate for serious application development in 2014 is a notion that arises from ignorance of the platform. Client requirements notwithstanding, it wouldn't be my first choice, but I've worked on very well engineered PHP solutions that were successful and have so far proven to be quite maintainable. A strong engineering lead is very important (someone needs to enforce the use of composer, adherence to the appropriate PSR standards, testing, modern mvc/routing etc), but PHP is absolutely capable of producing fast, clean, maintainable software.
- meowface 12y ago
  It can be a candidate, but when there are so many better candidates out there why bother? The only times I can understand it are for legacy reasons or if your developers only know PHP.
  - vectorpush 12y ago
    Perhaps your engineering team favors the workflow of a particular PHP framework. Perhaps you've estimated that for a particular project, it might be worthwhile to leverage the talent and effort that's been poured into HHVM. Perhaps you've had continued success solving a certain type of problem with a particular PHP library or tool. Perhaps you are constrained by regional availability. Perhaps you're interested in building a product or tool that you intend for your customers to deploy themselves and you want to provide them with the simplest path to accomplish that goal. Perhaps you're building a complex SPA or an otherwise JS heavy application that only requires a simple back-end, and you want to focus your big bucks on attracting quality JS engineers while choosing cheaper PHP engineers for the relatively simple CRUD API component.

The only thing I agree with here is that it is indeed easy to get started with PHP. It's also easy to get started with BASIC. You should not be using either to write a serious application in 2014.

k1kingy 12y ago

Why exactly? Why shouldn't you use PHP in 2014?

SapphireSun 12y ago
As an author of a PHP app, it's because there are better languages with better defaults out there. I don't understand why you would use a language with clunky libraries and hacked modules when you could use python, ruby, or node (amongst other great choices). Why would you choose something kinda grimy when you don't have to?
ashleyw 12y ago
Because there are nicer, faster and more sturdy languages available. Ruby, Python, Go, and JavaScript, to name a few. The age-old "PHP is so easy to deploy!!1" rhetoric doesn't really hold true anymore when it basically refers to shitty, oversold shared hosting. PaaS offerings like Heroku make virtually ANY language stupidly simple and cheap to deploy these days.

vectorpush 12y ago

I think PHP is lackluster, inconsistent, and feels pretty clumsy in general, but to suggest that it doesn't qualify as a candidate for serious application development in 2014 is a notion that arises from ignorance of the platform. Client requirements notwithstanding, it wouldn't be my first choice, but I've worked on very well engineered PHP solutions that were successful and have so far proven to be quite maintainable. A strong engineering lead is very important (someone needs to enforce the use of composer, adherence to the appropriate PSR standards, testing, modern mvc/routing etc), but PHP is absolutely capable of producing fast, clean, maintainable software.

meowface 12y ago
It can be a candidate, but when there are so many better candidates out there why bother? The only times I can understand it are for legacy reasons or if your developers only know PHP.
- vectorpush 12y ago
  Perhaps your engineering team favors the workflow of a particular PHP framework. Perhaps you've estimated that for a particular project, it might be worthwhile to leverage the talent and effort that's been poured into HHVM. Perhaps you've had continued success solving a certain type of problem with a particular PHP library or tool. Perhaps you are constrained by regional availability. Perhaps you're interested in building a product or tool that you intend for your customers to deploy themselves and you want to provide them with the simplest path to accomplish that goal. Perhaps you're building a complex SPA or an otherwise JS heavy application that only requires a simple back-end, and you want to focus your big bucks on attracting quality JS engineers while choosing cheaper PHP engineers for the relatively simple CRUD API component.