Developer tools vendor JetBrains is calling all PHP users to a digital forum on the future of the language and website building tool.
Accordingly, JetBrains’ Hanna Yakush said the free PHPverse 2025 event is set for 17 June.
“Prominent people from the PHP community will come together and share their thoughts,” she wrote. “With inspiring talks, discussions, Q&A sessions, and an exclusive PHP anniversary merch giveaway.”
Because the event marks the 30th year anniversary of PHP, JetBrains developers and users of integrated development environments (IDEs) like PhpStorm are invited to contribute.
Click here to register and to read the agenda. Also, speaker questions can be submitted via JetBrains’ website, at the bottom of the blog post. Then recordings will be made available afterwards.
PHP is a backend programming language for scripting dynamic, interactive websites alongside HTML. For example, online forms, ticketing management, or customer relationship management (CRM) systems for e-commerce, such as HubSpot or Salesforce.
And according to e-learning site Codecademy, PHP can be “one of the easiest programming languages to learn”. Syntax is forgiving, and plenty of help documents and other resources are available.
PHP website building under the microscope
Previously, JetBrains reported only 86% of surveyed PHP developers using version 8 in 2024. That’s compared to the 96% who had adopted version 7 in 2020. And also in JetBrains’ State of the Developer Ecosystem survey for 2024, Laravel remained the most popular PHP framework.
Meanwhile, PhpStorm developer advocate and executive director of the PHP Foundation Roman Pronskiy confirmed receiving “many interesting suggestions” for the future.
For example, a built-in web server; a database connection pool; WASM support; bundled extensions; generics; records; structs; and redesign of php.net.
“What do you think?” Pronskiy said at the time. “And there are some ongoing developments such as native modules, pattern matching, and others.”
PhpStorm is currently available in 2025.1, with a 2025.2 version now in early access.
( Image by Ilderson Casu from Pixabay )
