Every once and a while, developers step back and look at the language that they're using. They stop and wonder why it was developed a certain way, and why the programmers chose to create functions that do this one thing, versus another. I know I've personally wondered that about PHP before, especially when it comes to the object-oriented side of things. I can remember using it back before there was any real object support, and it was still taking shape. Well, if you're like me and want to take a trip down memory lane, or, maybe you're a new developer looking for the scoop on how object-oriented code came about in PHP, you need to check out this article.

In The Object-Oriented Evolution of PHP the author starts when the OOP stuff was just a gleam in the developer's eyes. They wanted a way to use objects in their code, and set out to provide the functions and code changes that would allow them and the loads of programmers all over the planet to work with them in PHP.

It's a pretty interesting read, especially for those that aren't that familiar with the OOP stuff to begin with. The article (written by Zeev) even talks about the future of PHP - how the new Zend Engine will be in PHP 5, and will mark a significant step forward in PHP's evolution as one of the key Web platforms in the world today. Sounds good to me....

Thanks again to Ewald for pointing this one out.