PHP is one the most popular languages in existence for web development. An estimated 20 million websites are operating on the language alone. The reason for this is that PHP is an easy language to learn and does not have a pre-requisite for extensive experience in programming languages.
Developed in 1994, the language was primarily designed to simplify the process of creating a webpage for an individual. The idea was that anyone could create a page, post their resume and thereafter, keep track of the traffic. Since then, the language has expanded and evolved to a 3,000 command strong entity. While it is relatively easy to use, that very fact is its weakness. Formed as a hybrid of the PERL and C languages, PHP does not have the full functionality or the capability of those two languages. Its purpose is to be simple enough to use.
Eventually, as a designer or developer delves deeply into the language, they find it frustrating that the language has many restrictions and limitations. This is why PHP is not the only hosting option offered by web hosts. PHP is also vulnerable to attacks by hackers, as it does not possess a detection process to identify data entered by hackers.
When providing hosting for PHP, these are some the issues that have to be considered. Adding to the problems is the fact that PHP now has so many commands that developers are stuck when certain processes do not work. Therefore, the web host has to provide support to the developer to get the program working on their server.