Came across a very interesting article about PHP. Nowdays I have a few clients that are programming shops in the rails/django field, and most guys there won't touch PHP with a ten foot pole. But I (still) see php as a good tool when it gets the job done well, and in most cases it does.
Here's the first part of teh article:
When people complain about PHP being a horrible language, not fit for human consumption, they will often talk about how the features of their favourite language are far more refined; have been designed with elegance in mind; are consistent and secure. And you know what? They're right.
But PHP is still a better tool.
When people write very long blog posts about the horror that is PHP, which lead to double-clawed hammers being created, then they're right.
But that double-clawed PHP hammer is still a better tool.
And it shouldn't be. It really shouldn't. I want another language to knock PHP out of the way. I want to use python wherever I now use PHP. Heck, I'd even take Ruby or Java. I can't, though, because PHP does one thing really well that no other language seems capable of doing.
It works, out of the box, for people who don't know what they're doing. The install process for the vast majority of PHP projects comprises of the following steps:
1. Put files here.
2. Done.
"Installation" of database then takes place inside the application. It's configuring, not installing; the application is already running.
[....]
http://blog.samuellevy.com/post/41-php-is-the-right-tool-for-the-job-for-all-the-wrong-reasons.html
What do you guys think of PHP?