PHP is a programming language that has been constantly criticized yet continues to thrive.

1. Usage Rate: According to W3Techs, as of August 2024, 75.9% of websites globally still use PHP, with 43% of websites built on WordPress. Among the mainstream websites that utilize PHP as their development language, over 70% include many well-known companies like Facebook, Microsoft, Wikipedia, and Mozilla.

2. Performance: With the upgrades to PHP versions, particularly from 8.1 onwards, there has been a significant improvement in performance. While it may not match the speed of static languages like Go and Java, it is now on par with Python and Node.js in terms of speed.

3. Development Speed: PHP is quite similar to Python in that it allows you to accomplish tasks with minimal code. Almost every task you need to perform has an available library, leading to rapid development.

4. Deployment Speed: The environment setup for PHP has become increasingly convenient, making deployment straightforward. You can launch a website and run services within a few hours. For example, using ServBay, you can set up a PHP development environment in just three minutes.

5. Scalability: PHP is easy to scale. After implementing caching techniques, it can handle significant traffic without the need for load balancing.

6. Code Readability: While PHP code can be somewhat chaotic without a framework, using frameworks like Laravel makes the code much more readable.

Despite the frequent mockery of PHP, the facts speak for themselves. With over 20 years of history, PHP's characteristics of speed, being free, and open-source make it an optimal solution for many startups that prioritize time and cost. There is no "best" programming language; only the most suitable one. Adapting to reality while maintaining core principles is the key to survival.