"PHP is dead"

All I hear online nowadays is PHP is dead. It's dirty. Get onto Python or JavaScript - we're the future!

Yes, PHP has had a few bad years, and is known historically for it's terrible naming conventions and parameter inconsistencies (cough array functions cough). But alas, there's life in the old bird yet!

PHP is nothing like the monster it was 10, 5, or even 3 years ago. With the significant improvements that came with PHP 7.x, and the ever improving features with each release - we're keeping up with the "competition" and still very much relevant in today's stack.

Why PHP? Why the Laravel Framework?

Compatability

It's been a staple of the web since day dot. As such, you'll struggle to find any hosting provider that will not support PHP.

It's easy

Take this with a grain of salt. Yes, PHP is an easy language to learn. However, that does work both ways - it's very easy to go wrong!

Online Knowledge + Tutorials

If you search for any error message, or concept online to do with PHP; 99% of the time someone has already done it. If they haven't there's most likely a good reason. With PHP being so mature, you'll find a wealth of knowledge online. Deciding what advise is good and bad, is a skill in itself but you'll develop that over time and through experience

Laravel?

Laravel is an open-source framework written in PHP. It's core mentality is to improve the Developer Experience. As such, it takes away a lot of the headaches that comes with PHP, as well as utilizing industry best practices and encouraging clean code.

It's ideal for Rapid Application Development. With it's extensive ecosystem and community, Laravel has become the largest and most popular framework on GitHub.

Some of it's additional services / integrations (some of these are third party, but well worth looking into!) are;

• Laravel Vapor - automated serverless hosting & deployments via AWS
• Laravel Echo - websocket integration that allows for real-time interactivity with your application(s)
• Envoyer - Zero Downtime deployment for your PHP applications
• Laravel Debug Bar, by Barry vd. Heuvel - Debug and troubleshooting information, direct in your Laravel Application
• Flare - Error tracking designed and built specifically for Laravel. Giving you a better understanding of errors and reducing fix time
• Cashier - Allow your Laravel Application to accept payments instantly using Stripe, Braintree, or alternative payment providers
• Tinkerwell - Live debugging for your PHP application. Written by Marcel Pociot

Who actually uses it?

PHP is everywhere. You just don't know it.

Here's a few examples of the companies using PHP today source;

• Facebook
• Slack
• WhatsApp
• Tesla

As for Laravel, there's a few to mention;

• Toyota Motor Group
• Coca Cola
• Arsenal F.C
• and many more...

Due to the sensitivity of knowing what framework a site uses, companies generally refrain from publishing what they're using.

The list above is sourced from my personal contact list and are (to me at least) reliable sources.

The Future?

Laravel 7.x is due for release this year, and with Taylor Otwell teasing it at Laracon Online in a few days, there's a few ripples in the crowds about what it will entail.

With PHP7.4 we got "arrow functions", and with 7.5 or 8.x we're looking to get even more.

If you've fallen out with PHP, or you've been seeing another language; come back. We miss you ❤