Really, I could go on a rant about speed and security, but it's just ugly. I do most of my coding in Python now days which spoils me. I look at php and it's a nasty mashup of code, data, and structure all rubbed into one nasty little steaming pile. Python is pretty and that's why I like it. It's easy to read, easy to understand, and does not explode into a visual cacophony like I've seen most php projects do.
I'd use php for a small simple one off thing because it is stupidly simple to get a page working with no fuss. I also have no issue using php products like Wordpress or PHPBB. My first web startup I wrote in php and it was a pain to maintain after a while. Anything large I'll stay away.
Have you checked out Code Igniter? It is a php framework that implements the MVC design pattern. Forcing the seperation of the different layers makes things much "prettier" in my opinion.
Really, I could go on a rant about speed and security, but it's just ugly. I do most of my coding in Python now days which spoils me. I look at php and it's a nasty mashup of code, data, and structure all rubbed into one nasty little steaming pile. Python is pretty and that's why I like it. It's easy to read, easy to understand, and does not explode into a visual cacophony like I've seen most php projects do.
I'd use php for a small simple one off thing because it is stupidly simple to get a page working with no fuss. I also have no issue using php products like Wordpress or PHPBB. My first web startup I wrote in php and it was a pain to maintain after a while. Anything large I'll stay away.
Just because it's ugly and I have to stare at it.