This is an absolutely brilliant summary of the virtues of PHP.

The important point is that these virtues aren’t going away. By comparison this seems to miss the point. In 2020 we won’t be programming the web with an advanced Python framework (wonderful as python is). We’ll have something which does what PHP did for CGI or Processing does Java, ie. wrap a purpose built, sophisticated back-end (something like Google Application Engine) in a light, domain-specific language. That language won’t look like PHP. It would be nice if it looked like Python, but I suspect Javascript is a more likely model.

But it will retain the virtues of PHP : none of this fussy separation of presentation and logic; easy discoverability of where URLs go; fast iterative development; big built-in library etc.

(Hat-tip, BillSeitz for the links)