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Why is PHP not a "real" programming language? Why is subversion not a "real" version control tool?

Yes, I've programmed in PHP and know it has some downsides, and that it has some big warts that are ugly, but it is a real programming language. Real projects are built with PHP.

Now I understand the frustration with Subversion, but it still is a version control system that is used in the real world. Would I love it if everyone decided to move away from SVN and onto something more capable like Git or Mercurial, yes, but that doesn't mean we have to belittle people who are using those tools.




PHP is the Walmart of languages, everyone uses it because everyone uses it, but nobody really has anything _good_ to say about it.


I wasn't going to jump into this discussion but that isn't very fair. I don't use PHP myself and am not a fan of it but here are some reasons why I think it is popular:

1) It's very easy to get started with, even if you're not a great programmer (or even if you have never programmed before). Just start with pure HTML and then add a few <?php> tags. 2) Lots of PHP hosting available, much of it free. 3) Loads of frameworks and libraries available.

I'm sure a PHP fan could come up with a few more.


2 and 3 are not really advantages for PHP, as the same can be said for most any language.

I think #1 is the big reason that PHP is as popular as it is, but that "feature" has a funny smell among programmers who don't like to mix languages.




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