I'm not sure about the larger picture but I remember maybe a couple decades ago in my little corner of the world that PHP shit was becoming more popular it seemed. Often mentioned in conjunction with the Apache web server and My SQL.
Back then I recall shopping carts and CGI(common gateway interface) were, or were becoming a big thing. I did it for a while although I'm sure I didn't adhere to any industry standards as I was self taught, pretty much, but I was able to get shit to work, and I got paid, really well.
The PHP syntax is similar to C; C++ which was my programming language at the time - all Microsofts' shit.
Nowadays I feel like going back to Linux with all of MS' information gathering routines and a bunch of worthless crap that at times can make watching stuff load comparable to watching flies fuck...
Not to mention the 'forced updates' and a daunting feeling that MS may be helping Big Brother to spy on me, or anyone else for that matter.