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5 Reasons Why It's Difficult to Find & Hire A PHP Programmer

Difficult to find a vetted PHP Developer

By Shwet RaiPublished 3 years ago 5 min read

Are You Struggling to Hire a PHP Programmer for Your Project? Don't Feel Alone. With so few skilled PHP developers to meet demand, finding and hiring one may seem impossible. In this blog post, we will examine five reasons why hiring and finding PHP developers may have become harder; from scripting nature and resource constraints to scripting languages being less than robust solutions; businesses face unique difficulties finding suitable talent when looking for development services for PHP needs - read on if hiring is giving you fits!

PHP is a scripting language

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is more commonly referred to as scripting language. Simply stated, PHP allows web developers to quickly build dynamic pages while seamlessly interacting with databases through embedded HTML code on server-side execution of PHP code. This makes for seamless development environments!

A scripting language offers advantages but can present obstacles when hiring PHP programmers. One major drawback of PHP lies in its absence of features typically found in other programming languages like Java or C++ - for instance, object-oriented approaches aren't needed here as PHP prefers procedural programming to give its results more flexibility and robustness.

PHP's loosely typed system adds another level of complication. Unlike languages with strict typing rules such as Python and TypeScript, which limit variable types at runtime to rigid values like integer or string types, PHP allows variables to dynamically switch types during execution - giving rise to unexpected behaviors or hard-to-find bugs if not managed appropriately.

An active community surrounding any programming language plays a tremendous role in its ongoing success and evolution. While passionate PHP developers may contribute their knowledge and expertise, overall activity may not compare favorably with languages like JavaScript or Python.

Finding comprehensive resources tailored explicitly for learning advanced concepts or solving specific problems using PHP can be difficult. While online tutorials and documentation exist for beginners tackling basic syntax and functionality of the language itself, more complex topics might require lengthy searches through forums or even outdated resources.

PHP is not an Object-Oriented programming language

PHP is a modern scripting language renowned for its accessibility. However, one reason it may be challenging to hire or find a PHP programmer may be due to it not being an Object-Oriented Language itself.

PHP differs significantly from object-oriented languages like Java or Python in that its original purpose was web scripting; later versions introduced object-oriented programming features; however, these still lack some of the advanced OOP features found elsewhere.

Finding skilled PHP programmers with in-depth understanding and experience with OOP concepts can be difficult, making complex systems harder to design and build as developers may need more expertise with best practices like encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism.

Lacking strong OOP support in PHP, projects can become harder to debug or expand over time due to improper organization and structure provided by OOP principles. Without them in place, projects often become disorganized, making debugging harder or expanding more challenging than intended.

However, experienced PHP programmers have evolved their coding style to incorporate object-oriented principles within its constraints, often by using frameworks like Laravel or Symfony that provide reliable structures for developing scalable apps using OOP principles.

While PHP may not be widely seen as a full Object-Oriented language like C++ and Java are, talented developers still specialize in tapping its potential effectively.

PHP has a Loosely Typed System

PHP programming language has gained wide adoption due to its ease of use and versatility, yet finding and hiring PHP programmers may prove challenging due to their loose type of system.

PHP variables do not need to have their data types declared before use, meaning each variable could hold various values throughout a program's execution and possibly cause potential issues. While this might provide greater convenience than having declared types in advance may provide, such an approach also poses potential security concerns.

Erroneously assigning integer values to variables originally intended for strings can cause unexpected results or errors later in the code. Without strict typing rules in place, it becomes essential for programmers to manage variables to ensure they contain appropriate values closely.

Debugging PHP's loosely typed system can present another obstacle when encountering bugs or unexpected behaviors in codebases; tracking down their root causes may prove more complex than in languages with stricter systems.

The Community is Not as Active as Other Languages

One reason it can be challenging to hire and find PHP programmers is due to a less active PHP community than for other programming languages. While PHP has long been around and enjoys widespread user support, its community may need to be more vibrant and involved.

Popular languages like Python or JavaScript boast robust developer communities filled with forums, online tutorials, and active discussion groups populated with developers eager to share knowledge, collaborate on projects together, and assist fellow coders in solving coder problems.

However, community activity may be at its lowest regarding PHP programming languages such as PHP or Perl/MySQL/Apache2. This presents businesses looking for PHP programmers a challenge, as there may be fewer resources or networking opportunities within these communities.

No active PHP community means it may be more challenging to find experienced developers that keep pace with industry trends, as relying solely on fellow developers or staying informed through forums or blogs becomes much more complex. Remaining relevant becomes even more complicated without such support systems in place.

With an active community driving innovation and pushing limits in frameworks and libraries explicitly developed for PHP development, PHP could catch up to other programming languages as far as its advancement goes.

Though there are certainly talented PHP programmers out there, finding and hiring knowledgeable specialists who excel in the PHP scripting language may present certain obstacles.

Shortage of resources

Finding and hiring a PHP programmer can be quite a tedious process due to various reasons. First and foremost, PHP is not object-oriented like other popular programming languages like C, which could limit their capabilities and flexibility.

As PHP uses an open-type system that may lead to errors and bugs when not carefully managed, its flexibility requires developers to use caution in testing processes as it could create potential error scenarios. While its flexibility may be handy at times, it needs careful supervision from developers who understand its workings well enough for optimum performance.

Finding PHP programmers may also be challenging due to a smaller, less active community than with other programming languages - meaning fewer resources will likely exist when confronting complex issues or encountering support requests.

Businesses searching for PHP developers often need help hiring a qualified talent pool. With more modern programming languages gaining popularity, some talented programmers may switch focus away from PHP due to its limited appeal and experienced professionals becoming scarce in this field.

Even so, businesses should remember that with careful thought and effective recruitment strategies, they can still find skilled PHP programmers with expertise for their projects.

So whether you need to hire a Golang developer or PHP programmer for your project requirements, take your time during the selection process to consider all aspects outlined above and find someone who fits. That way, your chances of identifying an ideal candidate increase drastically!

Authors

About the Creator

Shwet Rai

I'm a SEO Executive at UltraGenius. UltraGenius is the platform that assists fast-growing companies in finding, assessing & hiring top-notch full-time remote developers using our assessment, referral & matching tools.

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  • Olivia Anderson 2 years ago

    I found your article on hiring a PHP programmer quite informative and insightful. PHP is indeed a powerful tool for creating dynamic websites, and your tips on hiring the right programmer are valuable. In addition to your article, I'd like to share another resource from Cleveroad's blog (https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/hire-a-programmer/). This article provides a comprehensive guide on the entire hiring process, including defining your project requirements, assessing skills, and conducting interviews, making it a helpful companion piece to your post.

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