Can you list the main advantages and disadvantages of the PHP programming language?

Advantages of PHP:

• Easy to learn and use, especially for web development.
• Large community and many ready-made libraries and frameworks (e.g., Laravel, Symfony).
• Good integration with various databases.
• Wide support from hosting providers.
• Fast prototyping and web application development.

Disadvantages of PHP:

• Historically accumulated syntax that is not always consistent.
• Lower performance compared to some modern languages.
• Possible security issues if used improperly.
• Less strict typing (though it is improving in newer versions).

Example of simple PHP code:

<?php
function greet($name) {
    return "Hello, " . htmlspecialchars($name) . "!";
}
echo greet("World");
?>