• The moon is stupid because it can't support life!
• Paper plates suck because soup makes them soggy!
• Bicycles are dumb because they are inefficient for interstate transportation

I know, I know - silly statements. Anyone reading those bullet points will probably want to punch me for making stupid arguments. I can hear it now "Paper plates aren't made for eating soup Tommy!" or "Bicycles aren't meant to pull cargo trailers from state to state Tommy!" That is my point exactly! And, yes - when someone is making a point to me they always say "Tommy"...

Whenever I get into a philosophical debate about PHP with a programmer, I hear similar arguments! Everyone that hates PHP wants to tell me what PHP isn't. Or, I am told about things that other programming languages can do. Hey, I know what PHP is! It is a programming language used to build web pages. And, it is good at it. This is when the programmer comes back with "but you can't write desktop applications with it!". Okay, okay - I understand! PHP isn't meant to write desktop applications. PHP is a programming language used to build web pages. Don't hate PHP because of what it isn't - love PHP for what it is. And, quit crying because it isn't strongly typed - get over it!

Even Rasmus (for those that don't know - the super-hacker that wrote the original PHP language back in the 90^s) will be the first to say that PHP is just a tool. It isn't meant to be a miracle cure for every programming need! Rasmus sees PHP for what it is - a programming language used to build web pages.

But, why the love Tommy? Why love PHP if it is just one more tool in a developer's toolbox? I am glad you asked. I love PHP for several reasons. It is a great tool for building web pages quickly. It is easy to learn. It has a low barrier to entry. It is extendible. It is portable. It is free. And, most of all, it has a great community of support around it.

That is right! PHP is a community-driven open-source project! The core developers are just like me (except much much smarter)! And, they are approachable. I have talked to and sent emails to Ilia, Sarah, Elizabeth, Sebastion, Deric, Rob and others. They listen. They respond. They are willing to evaluate my arguments. They take the time to help. And, one day when I am competent in C - I can contribute. I can write extensions and code that makes its way into PHP. Wow, that is powerful! That means - PHP is whatever we make it.

And, that goes for the rest of the open-source community-driven world. Yup, I am looking at you Linux, Zend Framework, and the other millionPlus projects! You see, I don't just love PHP - I love it all. I love open-source projects. I love community-driven projects. I love free software. PHP is one of many tools that I get to use for free to make a living and feed my family. Thank you PHP for putting food on the table!

So, the next time other programmers are smugly telling you about the evils of PHP - remind them of what PHP is! Remind them of how it is meant to be used. And, if that doesn't work - just tell them that {insert their favorite language here} sucks. Heck, I guess you could even throw around some of the facts - like PHP is the most popular web-development language in the world and is used on over 20-million servers (I think I read that somewhere).

For those in the PHP community whose names I spelled wrong - I apologize - my spell check doesn't know you :-)