thenextweb.com
Why PHP continues to be a popular but divisive ...
Excerpt
However, being an old, accessible language can have its disadvantages too. With inexperienced users able to cobble together websites using old tutorials and a little bit of knowledge (a dangerous thing), you’re bound to see issues, particularly with site security. And so, PHP sites continue to be a target of hackers hoping to hit upon an old, unsupported version. Worryingly, according to WordPress stats, the majority (more than 44%) of its sites are using version 7.1 of PHP, for which support ended in 2019. This is one of the most common complaints levelled against PHP, along with the inconsistencies in the language due to its organic development.
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https://thenextweb.com/news/why-php-continues-to-be-a-popular-but-divisive-programming-languageRelated Pain Points
Widespread use of end-of-life PHP versions creates security vulnerabilities
955% of PHP teams are still running at least one EOL version, with 70% of those lacking security confidence. Deprecated versions like PHP 7.1 (44% of WordPress sites) present genuine security risks and are frequent targets for hackers.
Beginner-friendly access enables poor security practices and legacy code
8PHP's low barrier to entry allows inexperienced developers to create insecure websites using outdated tutorials and incomplete knowledge, perpetuating vulnerable legacy code in production environments.
Inconsistent naming conventions and code standards
4PHP does not enforce strict naming conventions for functions, variables, and classes, leading to inconsistent code that causes confusion in team environments and large codebases. This reduces code readability and maintainability, making onboarding difficult for new developers.