> I fully agree that for a new project, you shouldn't use PHP for any other reason than the ubiquitous hosting.
Here's another scenario where I could imagine using PHP. Suppose I'm starting a company, and I'm starting it solo. I've been using PHP successfully for many years, and I know it and the environment (Apache, etc.) really well. I know what libraries are good, what libraries are not good, I have a framework that I like, and that I know how to set up to my liking. By the way, I'm really excited about this company.
Now, PHP is pretty awful as a programming language. I really don't like it. But the reality is, I am going be dramatically more efficient with it. If I were to use Rails, it would take me at the very least a week or two to really be able to use it without checking documentation constantly, and it would probably take me months to be at a proficiency where I was totally comfortable with it, and the environment it lives in, and figured out which libraries to use with it and so on.
During those months, when I should be focussing on building my business, talking to customers, getting feedback, learning more about marketing, I am instead dealing with the friction of learning a new programming environment. If I had stuck with PHP, all I have to do is sit at a terminal and let the code flow out of my fingertips. All of my actual thinking could go into the important stuff.
I don't deny that PHP is pretty terrible as a programing language. I do however deny that there are no reasons to use it for a new project.
Here's another scenario where I could imagine using PHP. Suppose I'm starting a company, and I'm starting it solo. I've been using PHP successfully for many years, and I know it and the environment (Apache, etc.) really well. I know what libraries are good, what libraries are not good, I have a framework that I like, and that I know how to set up to my liking. By the way, I'm really excited about this company.
Now, PHP is pretty awful as a programming language. I really don't like it. But the reality is, I am going be dramatically more efficient with it. If I were to use Rails, it would take me at the very least a week or two to really be able to use it without checking documentation constantly, and it would probably take me months to be at a proficiency where I was totally comfortable with it, and the environment it lives in, and figured out which libraries to use with it and so on.
During those months, when I should be focussing on building my business, talking to customers, getting feedback, learning more about marketing, I am instead dealing with the friction of learning a new programming environment. If I had stuck with PHP, all I have to do is sit at a terminal and let the code flow out of my fingertips. All of my actual thinking could go into the important stuff.
I don't deny that PHP is pretty terrible as a programing language. I do however deny that there are no reasons to use it for a new project.