How many PHP scripts published via Homebrew ?

What is PHP ? 🔗

PHP is a widely used, open-source server-side scripting language designed primarily for web development. It allows developers to create dynamic, interactive websites by embedding code directly into HTML to handle tasks like data processing and database management.

Definition and Purpose 🔗

PHP (a recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a general-purpose scripting language that runs on a web server. Unlike client-side languages like JavaScript which run in the user’s browser, PHP code is executed on the server, generating HTML that is then sent to the client. This server-side execution allows PHP to securely interact with databases and files without exposing the code to the user.

Key Capabilities 🔗

PHP is renowned for its ability to create dynamic page content rather than just static HTML. Its primary functions include:

• Database Interaction: It enables websites to interact with databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite to store, retrieve, and modify data.
• Data Handling: PHP can collect form data, manage cookies and sessions for user logins, and encrypt sensitive information.
• File Management: It can create, open, read, write, and delete files on the server.

Common Use Cases 🔗

Because of its flexibility, PHP powers a significant portion of the web, including approximately 78% of all websites.

• Content Management Systems (CMS): It is the backbone of popular platforms like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla.
• E-Commerce: Platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify (in parts) utilize PHP for managing products and transactions.
• Major Platforms: Tech giants such as Facebook and Wikipedia rely on PHP for their infrastructure.

Brief History 🔗

PHP was originally created in 1993 by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf and released in 1995. At that time, the acronym stood for Personal Home Page tools, but it has since evolved into a full-fledged programming language managed by the PHP Group. The language has undergone significant updates, with recent versions like PHP 8 introducing features such as improved performance and modern object-oriented programming capabilities.

Statistics of php programming language 🔗

On December 16th 2025, The number of CLI apps written in php and distributed via Homebrew Core Formulae is 25 apps.

You may like to compare it to Node JS , deno , Yarn , Perl , Ruby , Python , and Go .

Apps written in php and distributed via Homebrew Core Formulae 🔗

• phpunit : Programmer-oriented testing framework for PHP
• pie : PHP Installer for Extensions
• psalm : PHP Static Analysis Tool
• wp-cli : Command-line interface for WordPress
• deployer : Deployment tool written in PHP with support for popular frameworks
• hqx : Magnification filter designed for pixel art
• joern : Open-source code analysis platform based on code property graphs
• mysql-search-replace : Database search and replace script in PHP
• phoronix-test-suite : Open-source automated testing/benchmarking software
• php-intl : PHP internationalization extension
• phpmd : PHP Mess Detector
• pickle : PHP Extension installer
• ohdear-cli : Tool to manage your Oh Dear sites
• phive : Phar Installation and Verification Environment (PHIVE)
• php-cs-fixer : Tool to automatically fix PHP coding standards issues
• psysh : Runtime developer console, interactive debugger and REPL for PHP
• brew-php-switcher : Switch Apache / Valet / CLI configs between PHP versions
• composer : Dependency Manager for PHP
• easyengine : Command-line control panel to manage WordPress sites
• php-code-sniffer : Check coding standards in PHP, JavaScript and CSS
• phpmyadmin : Web interface for MySQL and MariaDB
• bb-cli : Bitbucket Rest API CLI written in pure PHP
• css-crush : Extensible PHP based CSS preprocessor
• phpbrew : Brew & manage PHP versions in pure PHP at HOME
• phpstan : PHP Static Analysis Tool

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