PHP_Landscape_Report_2023 ![rw-book-cover](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/media/reader/parsed_document_assets/98930135/VR3n-CKpybA2IcQMzATfBhfVhdc4vQ6jU0kBPFC20Tw-cover_X9OIcVP.png) ## Metadata - Author: [[readwise.io]] - Full Title: PHP_Landscape_Report_2023 - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #Zend - #PHPLandscape - #PHP8 - #CloudDeployment - #Containerization - #WordPress - #OpenSource - #DevRel - #OSPO - #Security - #CI-CD Author: Zend by Perforce Software, Inc. Source: Zend 2023 PHP Landscape Report Reference: https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf date created: 2025-08-28 00:00 --- # Title: Zend 2023 PHP Landscape Report — Deep-Dive Notes, Analysis, and Applications for Open Source & WordPress ## Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#-notes) - [📖 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### References - Zend 2023 PHP Landscape Report (PDF) ## 📝 Summary The report captures a pivotal inflection: with PHP 7.4 end-of-life in Nov 2022, PHP 8 became the only community-supported branch, creating urgent migration pressure for organizations still on 7.x and earlier. Simultaneously, deployments are modernizing: AWS edged out on‑premises as the top platform, and containers moved toward mainstream adoption. Teams prize PHP’s ease of learning and enjoy working with it, though many still operate on EOL versions due to testing/refactoring burdens. Key trends include: - PHP 8 adoption plans are high, but many are still on 7.4 or earlier. - Containers and orchestration are accelerating; Docker dominates. - Ubuntu leads server OS choices, with RHEL notable in larger orgs. - Logging and APM remain core to production issue discovery; debugging/log analysis top resolution workflows. - Teams prioritize features, then security; automation/orchestration remains under-prioritized despite leverage. Citations: - “For the first time, PHP 8 is the only community supported PHP.” [Welcome letter, pages 2–3](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=2) - AWS overtook on‑premises; containers “three‑quarters of respondents” in narrative framing [pages 2–3](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=3) - Deployment distribution [page 13](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=13) - Most used versions and EOL prevalence [pages 31–33](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=31) - Developer sentiment (enjoyment, ease of learning) [pages 39–40](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=39) ## 📖 Main Content The report blends survey data (651 qualified responses, Oct–Dec 2022) with trend commentary across PHP adoption, infrastructure modernization, compliance, and developer experience. Key takeaways in my words: - Migration crunch: Many orgs still run 7.4 or even 5.x; they face refactoring/testing investments as deprecations removals bite in PHP 8. Long-term support editions may defer risk, but not library security gaps. - Cloud-first shift: AWS leads deployments; on-prem dipped >10% YoY. This pairs with increasing container adoption and orchestration learning curves. - Production reliability: Teams discover issues mainly via logs and user reports; many rely on log analysis, debugger tools, and programmatic checkpoints to resolve. Code tracing is growing but underutilized. - Security/compliance: Majority of respondents operate under compliance regimes, amplifying the importance of supported PHP runtimes and predictable upgrade cadences. - Developer sentiment: Contrary to some narratives, devs report high enjoyment and see PHP as easy to learn. JIT matters less than connectivity, HTTP semantics, and OOP ergonomics for day-to-day value. Personal insights for WordPress/open source: - This landscape mirrors WordPress realities: large legacy fleets, plugin/theme compatibility constraints, and hosting diversity make stepped upgrades common. - Containers and IaC can standardize environments across agencies and product teams, improving CI parity and reducing “works on my machine” regressions during PHP upgrades. - For an OSPO trajectory, the LTS vs. cadence tension surfaces policy choices: when to backport, how to fund maintenance, and how to set org-wide upgrade SLAs that respect product lifecycles. ## 🗒️ Notes - PHP 8 is the sole community-supported branch - EOL of PHP 7.4 in Nov 2022 created urgency [pages 2–3](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=2). - Many still use 7.4 or older; decisions: upgrade vs. commercial LTS [pages 2–3](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=3). - Survey scope and demographics - 651 qualified responses (Oct–Dec 2022) [page 4](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=4). - Majority developers; strong representation from managers/IT [pages 5–8](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=5). - Application types and integrations - APIs (66.6%), internal apps (60.5%), CMS (46.6%) [page 9](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=9). - Integrations led by relational DBs (74.6%), web APIs (68.3%), filesystems (55.1%) [pages 10–11](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=10). - Operating systems - Ubuntu leads (29.5%), then CentOS (14.9%), Debian (9.8%) [page 11](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=11). - Larger companies show more RHEL (11.6%) and Alpine [page 12](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=12). - Deployment platforms - AWS (46%) overtook on‑prem (36.8%); GCP (19.5%), Azure (14.2%), DO (17.2%) [page 13](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=13). - On‑prem down >10% YoY; AWS + GCP gained [page 13](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=13). - Web servers - Apache (57.3%) and Nginx (56.5%) dominate; LiteSpeed/Caddy grow from low base [page 15](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=15). - Compliance - 55.2% have compliance requirements; +13.4% expect them within 12 months [page 16](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=16). - Team priorities and maintenance split - Top priorities: features, security, code quality, performance; automation lowest [page 18](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=18). - 46.4% spend ≥50% time on maintenance; stepped upgrades and deprecations contribute [pages 19–20](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=19). - Production issues: discovery and resolution - Discovery: logs (77%), user reports (66%), APM (42%) [page 21](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=21). - Resolution: log analysis (70.9%), checkpoints (58.9%), debuggers (55.4%), code tracing (22.1%) [page 22](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=22). - Containers and orchestration - 57.5% use containers; +19.8% plan within a year; large orgs at 65% [pages 24–26](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=24). - Docker leads (68.3%); Podman/Containerd/CRI‑O trail [page 27](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=27). - PHP versions and upgrades - Most used: 7.4 (54.2%), 8.1 (46.1%), 8.0 (35.4%); 61.9% use EOL versions overall; 65.9% in >100‑employee orgs [pages 31–33](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscape-report-2023.pdf#page=31). - 68.3% plan upgrades within 12 months; stepped upgrade complexity cited [page 34](https://www.zend.com/system/files/zend-php-landscap - Summary: The content below is missing, so it cannot be summarized. - URL: https://readwise.io/reader/document_raw_content/98930135 Full text of this document omitted because this document is a PDF [Download original file →](https://readwise.io/reader/document_raw_content/98930135), PHP_Landscape_Report_2023, readwise.io, 01hcfvcr3m81kg45ewabg3zr0w.