Once a Web Development Favorite, PHP Now Ranks 17th as Fortran Reenters the Top 10
PHP, a language once at the forefront of web development, has experienced a significant decline in the latest TIOBE index, now sitting at its lowest ever ranking of 17th place as of April 2024. This fall represents a dramatic shift for PHP, which was previously a dominant force in the programming landscape.
Paul Jansen, CEO of TIOBE, reflected on PHP’s historic role, noting that when the index began in 2001, PHP was on the brink of becoming the go-to language for website development. PHP’s peak came between 2006 and 2010, when it frequently secured a top 3 spot in the index. However, the rise of alternative web development frameworks and languages has overshadowed PHP in recent years.
Frameworks such as Ruby on Rails, Django, and React have propelled languages like Ruby, Python, and JavaScript to prominence. Jansen highlights that these languages have become the primary drivers of new web frameworks, further eroding PHP’s market share. Additionally, PHP faced security challenges that necessitated a significant overhaul of its approach and practices.
Despite its decline in the rankings, PHP continues to be a vital part of the web ecosystem, especially in small and medium-sized websites. It remains integral to WordPress, the widely used content management system. However, Jansen observes that while PHP is far from obsolete, it no longer enjoys the same level of dominance it once did.
In contrast to PHP’s decline, the April 2024 TIOBE index also marks a notable resurgence for Fortran, which has reentered the top 10 for the first time since April 2002. This resurgence underscores a shifting landscape in programming language popularity, as historical languages find new relevance.
The TIOBE index assesses programming language popularity based on various factors, including the number of skilled engineers, educational courses, and third-party vendors associated with each language. The index aggregates data from a range of sources, such as Google, Amazon, and Wikipedia, to gauge the current standing and trends in programming languages.