For a look at both sides of the argument in one place, see: PhpProsAndCons * Both 'sides' of WhyWeLovePhp. ---- PHP is a notably simple language: the effort of learning PhpLanguage is trivial if you already know CeeLanguage or CeePlusPlus. It now provides a class system very like C++'s. Database and web integration are unusually strong. Cross-platform support and the availability of languages are excellent. PHP has good RegularExpression''''''s and AnonymousFunction''''''s. Compared to PerlLanguage, PHP is much simpler. Compared to PythonLanguage, PHP is much more C-like. But since when was being "much more C-like" an advantage, and if it is, then why aren't you simply using C? Python's advantage over PHP is that it's "much more LispLanguage-like", having closures, sensible scoping rules, etc. Being "much more C-like" sounds like a big step backwards. * I think what is meant is that one probably knows C-like syntax from at least one other language they've encountered. Maybe it would not be C, but Java or JavaScript or C#, etc. Thus, ease of learning is implied. How to make blocks, functions, IF statements, and loops is already known for the most part such that one can focus on learning other differences. * ''What's often preferred is some form of "dynamic C": C's syntax but with dynamic typing and dynamic declarations of some sort. C-style syntax is the Langua Franca. As far as whether it's the "best" syntax style, perhaps consider ItsTimeToDumpCeeSyntax. '' Compared to RubyLanguage, PHP is both much more C-like and has much stronger support on non-Unix platforms. Compared to all of the above, PHP arguably has much simpler webpage integration, and programmers are easier to find (with the possible exception of Perl). However, the other 3 big scripting languages may still have advantages that make them more suitable for "heavy lifting" non-website jobs. * Really? Could you give examples? ** You can mix PHP and HTML both bottom-up and top-bottom. Either start with raw HTML and sprinkle PHP here and there using