I have read that document. While PHP certainly has its problems, it still remains a tool in my toolbox.
The trick is being aware of the pitfalls. Just because an application is written in PHP does not make it inherently bad, just as an application written in (e.g.) Rust does not make it inherently good.
Rust makes it unlikely that certain classes of bugs exist. PHP makes it very likely that lots of bugs exist. You're right, it's not a silver bullet, but writing PHP, no matter how much you're "aware" of the pitfalls is just bad engineering and makes your software more likely to be buggy crap.
Rust is unforgiving, yes. PHP is forgiving, yes. You will write Rust the way Rust wants to be written, or you will suffer. You will write PHP the way you want to write PHP, and you may make yourself suffer.
One requires that you think a certain way in order to function at all. The other requires only that you can solve problems, but makes no guarantees that your solution will be the optimal one.
Regardless of language, the criteria you need to keep in mind is this:
> Am I solving a problem for people in a way that is better than other available solutions?
> One requires that you think a certain way in order to function at all.
That's a feature in my eyes. Languages with too much freedom -- C++, PHP, Javascript and many others -- suffer from (a) lack of idiomatic syntax or ways of doing basic things like map&reduce; even finding an element in a list, or formating a date/time have many library choices, and (b) give you plenty of ways to shoot yourself in the foot.
Opinionated tech is a protection against a class of brain defects of the human programmers. You cannot keep track of 50+ potential dangers in your head all the time. You will inevitably make a mistake. Opinionated tech reduces the count of things you have to constantly be aware of.
Why? It is still spot on.
The metaphor is perfect - no matter what specific bugs is fixed in PHP, the overall fractal of pure shit is still present - it is everywhere you look.
Why do you think it's past its utility then? The arguments are still perfectly sound, so despite a few of its complaints being fixed it still seems worth reading to me.
One can write very similar things about the evils of C, Java, or JavaScript, particularly if you happened to be an asshole. It's mostly value judgments, and consequently it has low informational value. It's an angry rant. CS needs far fewer people who think that it's okay to write vague, angry rants about other people's code. Yes, that is quite a common thing to do, and no, that does not make it okay.
If you must rag on PHP, presumably after some contemplation of the beam in your own eye, then this would be best accomplished by a more neutral and factual presentation, such as phpsadness.com. Spreading an angry, dismissive, fact-light rant is just poo-flinging.
