Is PHP still around? Looking past the noise about coding fads

The Death Knell That Never Rings

In software creation, calling a coding tongue dead’s kinda trendy. Now and then, news yells that old-timers - think Java or PHP, maybe even Python - are done for, just ‘cause some fresh pick like Rust or Go gets hype, or big names switch lanes - say, Swift nudging out Objective-C

This never-ending wave of excitement stirs up stress among coders while messing with company decisions. Truth is messier - coding tongues don't really vanish; they just shift from expanding to being kept alive or used for niche jobs

The secret to getting through this hype wave? Know which numbers actually count - spotting what’s fading versus what’s just quiet but solid

The Three Stages of a Programming Language

To check how strong a language really is, put it in one phase outta three possible ones

1. The Emergent/Growth Phase (The Hype Train)

Characteristics:Excitement is sky-high, with folks jumping in fast. The crowd’s expanding quick - thanks to fresh tools popping up all the time. A big chunk of coders are keen on picking up new stuff - like Rust or Go - or even diving into TypeScript just for fun

Hype: The media zeroes in on these languages right now, sometimes calling them the ones that push aside older tongues

Reality:They’re usually focused on one thing - or tackle today’s tough issues like safety in code - working really well there, which gets people hyped even if most aren’t using them

2. The Mature/Foundational Phase (The Unsung Backbone)

Characteristics: Steady but flat interest online - no big spikes lately. Lots of old software still running on mountains of existing code. Companies keep hiring folks just to fix and update these aging systems. Think Java, C, PHP, even C++. Jobs pop up often because someone’s gotta keep the lights on

Hype: Folks often say it’s “over” or “fading,” especially when things stay slow or lose that trendy edge

Reality: These languages run banks, governments, plus big company systems. Because they’re so widely used and dependable, they won’t fade away - they just keep working. Hiring needs here can beat those in newer tech areas, though the jobs don’t get much hype

3. The Specialized/Niche Phase (The True Decline)

Characteristics: Few newcomers join, learning tools are scarce, stuck in one narrow area - like outdated Pascal or ActionScript - with no growth ahead

Hype:Oddly enough, now and then a tongue at this stage sees a short-term spike in need - take COBOL when the economy shifted hard - just since the tiny number of coders still around turned super rare

Reality:A language isn't really dead until fresh projects stop popping up in it - instead, folks just patch up a few aging systems stuck on outdated, custom-built machines (like those vintage mainframe assembly dialects)

Separating Hype from Reality: Metrics That Matter

The 'is it dead?' discussion usually comes from personal opinions plus shaky info. A well-established tech could see fewer GitHub updates yet still bring in thousands of coders for big company jobs

TTo get a clear picture, check out these four key numbers:

Metric	Hype Indicator	Reality Check
TIOBE & PYPL Index	Fell fast down the rankings.	TIOBE tracks how often people search for terms - shows what folks are curious about. On the flip side, PYPL looks at demand for tutorials - basically what’s being studied. One thing though - they both reflect attention, but not if it's actually used in real work.
Stack Overflow Survey	"Most Loved" or "Most Wanted" falling.	Check out the difference between "Working With" and "Want to Work With." If "Working With" is strong, that means you’ve got a solid spot in the market - plus steady work lately.
Job Listings (Indeed/LinkedIn)	Fewer listings than competitors have.	A large count of job ads - mostly in Finance, Government, or Big Data. Those areas prefer steady performance instead of flashy updates. In big banks, COBOL experts earn top pay for niche system work.
Ecosystem Health	Lack of new frameworks/libraries.	New versions come out regularly from the team behind it - like Java every year - while big firms keep backing certain languages, such as Google with Go.

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The AI Influence: Redefining "Dead"

The rise of generative AI tools like **GitHub Copilot** is profoundly changing the definition of a language's life cycle।

• AI helps more people start coding fast - so picking a new language just 'cause it’s simpler doesn’t matter much now. After all, if AI deals with the hard parts either way, what's the big difference?
• AI handles translation and basic coding in outdated, tricky languages pretty well. Because of that, it’s cheaper to keep old systems running - so stuff like COBOL or C sticks around longer than expected. Instead of replacing them, companies just update what they’ve got
• Folks are starting to care less about which coding language someone knows - and way more about how well they tackle tough real-world issues. When it comes to finance tech, what counts is your grasp of the system - not if you used Python or Java to build it

The bottom line? Not a single major language in the top 20 has actually died out.

They've just grown up. Instead of running after trends, figure out what the market actually wants - that’s the smarter move

If you want steady work, big systems support, or chances to maintain old projects, go for the core languages - like Java, C, or C++. When it’s about fresh ideas, speed, or building new platforms, turn instead to rising ones such as Rust, Go, or TypeScript. Still, keep in mind, the software running everything today won’t vanish overnight