I don't think it's your place to be telling anyone here what route they should take if you can't give a good use case as to when to use PHP. Besides, the fact that you're telling me that you can't think about references just shows me that you're not at a level where you can work comfortably with them. High performance languages like C, Go and even C# work with references on a regular basis and mastering them will only do good for you with building more efficient applications.
Your problem isn't with the language, it's with the ecosystem and the poor examples of code you have found in the wild. I used to say the same thing about Java, but I've come to realize that, although Java isn't very nice in its verbosity, it's still a pretty neat language, but the ecosystem of overengineered libraries and continuous use of XML configurations over using classes means that it needs to improve, but it's slowly coming out of there (annotations are no better for performance, but gotta start somewhere I guess).
PHP can surely be used for game development, theoretically, if it's at roughly the same performance level as Java now (granted, the JIT implemenations between both languages are a lot different). Sure, you obviously can't build a AAA game with it, that's a no-brainer but you can definitely build small indie games with it now, but before we can get there, PHP needs to continue improving its JIT compiler and the community should start creating game engines that we can leverage. Really, it's definitely possible; if people use Python for small games, surely PHP can meet that level too.
All I see here is an inflated ego and a sure sign that if you don't become open minded about how to bring out the best of the tools available, you won't keep progressing to a senior developer. Let this be a lesson to all those who read this thread. Humility and openness to using multiple tools will make you a well rounded developer. PHP is here to stay for a long time and it's in a stage where we will start seeing it in many interesting use cases.
Fortran is still widely used within its niche, scientific computing. It is not so commonly used to the extent that High-Performance Computing is not so commonly used or needed in the world of computer programming.
Yet you talk like a Junior. I'm just looking out for people who bash anything simply because they have a bad time with a tool. Either way, PHP is not going anywhere and it will continue to be a recommended language for web development so long as developers know basic app architecture and patterns for good code.
I don't think it's your place to be telling anyone here what route they should take if you can't give a good use case as to when to use PHP. Besides, the fact that you're telling me that you can't think about references just shows me that you're not at a level where you can work comfortably with them. High performance languages like C, Go and even C# work with references on a regular basis and mastering them will only do good for you with building more efficient applications.
Your problem isn't with the language, it's with the ecosystem and the poor examples of code you have found in the wild. I used to say the same thing about Java, but I've come to realize that, although Java isn't very nice in its verbosity, it's still a pretty neat language, but the ecosystem of overengineered libraries and continuous use of XML configurations over using classes means that it needs to improve, but it's slowly coming out of there (annotations are no better for performance, but gotta start somewhere I guess).
PHP can surely be used for game development, theoretically, if it's at roughly the same performance level as Java now (granted, the JIT implemenations between both languages are a lot different). Sure, you obviously can't build a AAA game with it, that's a no-brainer but you can definitely build small indie games with it now, but before we can get there, PHP needs to continue improving its JIT compiler and the community should start creating game engines that we can leverage. Really, it's definitely possible; if people use Python for small games, surely PHP can meet that level too.
All I see here is an inflated ego and a sure sign that if you don't become open minded about how to bring out the best of the tools available, you won't keep progressing to a senior developer. Let this be a lesson to all those who read this thread. Humility and openness to using multiple tools will make you a well rounded developer. PHP is here to stay for a long time and it's in a stage where we will start seeing it in many interesting use cases.
Fortran is still widely used within its niche, scientific computing. It is not so commonly used to the extent that High-Performance Computing is not so commonly used or needed in the world of computer programming.
Yet you talk like a Junior. I'm just looking out for people who bash anything simply because they have a bad time with a tool. Either way, PHP is not going anywhere and it will continue to be a recommended language for web development so long as developers know basic app architecture and patterns for good code.
Yet you keep coming back 😂