10 Fun Facts About PHP You Probably Didn’t Know!

PHP has been around for decades, powering millions of websites and web applications. Even though it’s one of the most widely used programming languages in the world, there’s still a lot to learn about its quirks and history. Here are 10 fun facts about PHP that might surprise you:

1. PHP Wasn’t Always PHP

PHP originally stood for “Personal Home Page.” It was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 as a set of Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts to help him manage his personal website. Today, it stands for “PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor,” which is a recursive acronym.

2. The Dollar Sign ($)

The famous $ symbol in PHP variable names isn’t just for decoration! It was inspired by Perl, a programming language that influenced PHP’s syntax. It also makes it easy to spot variables in your code.

3. PHP Powers Nearly 80% of Websites

Despite the rise of newer languages and frameworks, PHP still powers nearly 80% of all websites today. Major platforms like WordPress, Facebook (in its early days), and Wikipedia rely on PHP for their backend.

4. Built for the Web

Unlike many programming languages that were adapted for web development, PHP was specifically designed for the web. This focus on the web gives PHP an edge with built-in functions to handle HTML, web forms, and server interactions.

5. Case Sensitivity Twist

PHP is case-sensitive with variables but not with functions! That means $variable and $Variable are different, but myFunction() and MYFUNCTION() are treated the same.

6. The Power of the echo Statement

The echo statement in PHP is one of the fastest ways to output data to the screen. It doesn’t even require parentheses, making it super straightforward to use, like this:

echo ‘Hello, World!’;

7. Elephpant Mascot

PHP’s unofficial mascot is the “elephpant,” a blue elephant with “PHP” on its side. Created by Vincent Pontier, the elephpant has become a popular collectible item among PHP enthusiasts.

8. PHP’s Influence on Facebook

Did you know that Facebook’s original codebase was built using PHP? Although they later developed their own runtime, called HipHop Virtual Machine (HHVM), to improve performance, PHP was the foundation that helped Facebook grow.

9. Flexible Syntax

PHP allows you to mix and match coding styles. You can write procedural code, object-oriented code, or even mix HTML directly within your PHP scripts. This flexibility is part of what makes it so popular among beginners and experienced developers alike.

10. Community-Driven Language

PHP is maintained and improved by a global community of developers. It has evolved over the years through feedback, contributions, and suggestions from developers around the world, leading to the powerful and robust language we use today.

Conclusion

PHP has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a simple tool for personal webpages to a major force in web development. Its quirks and versatility have helped it remain a favorite among developers for decades. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a newbie, PHP always has something new to offer.

Let us know which fun fact surprised you the most! Share your thoughts in the comments below.