I get hating on PHP is a meme, and the language certainly has faults, but I feel like it’s no more arbitrary than how JavaScript behaves. And just like JavaScript, if you follow modern standards and use a modern version, it’s a much better experience. The language is only as good as the programmer.
I didn’t mean it as a flex. It was a commentary on how the most commonly used programming language in current days is just as flawed as the most commonly used programming language in the past (in web development). Bad programmers are going to write bad code, regardless of the language.
I'd like to think Typescript does a lot of heavy lifting where JS fails when it comes to web development. On the otherhand there is no fixing fundamental flaws in PHP.
Sure bad programmers write bad code, but if a language tolerates something so obviously janky via implicit unseen magic, it's just encouraging bad practices. PHP makes this worse by tweaking core behaviours in weird and wacky ways that can easily lead to security vulnerabilities.
A high level language should make coding easier. If it doesn't why not just code in assembly, or even build an ASIC? And no, allowing you to fuck yourself by accident isn't making your life easier even if it seems simpler at the time you write the code.
Why not just use a good language though? Most of them are decent. It sounds like typescript is getting used a lot, at least - although it then gets turned into JavaScript for the browser.
Yes, there's a lot of lock-in with JavaScript. The first step would be designing a Python-based browser or whatever and getting people to use it. I know less about PHP.
That was more of a "why if you had the option". I've use JavaScript too for exactly this reason.